New Study Suggests Waiting Until 45 to Start Getting Mammograms

The American Cancer Society (ACS) have made a recent announcement recommending women to start having mammograms at age 45. The new development suggests that women who are at risk of developing breast cancer should begin at age 45, and routinely get a mammogram every year until they are 54. Once they've hit 54 years old, women should get them every other year. This is a big change considering that previous recommendations suggest women get routine mammograms annually starting at 40 years old.

Why the change? Evidence suggests mammograms may return false positives, leading to extra testing and painful biopsies for women who do not necessarily need it.

Although the ACS suggests for women to start at age 45, women will still be able to start getting their mammograms at 40 if they choose to do so. The same also goes for women who wish to continue their annual check following the age of 54.

For more information on this study you can click here.