From Denise Mann
HealthDay reporter
TUESDAY, March 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Don’t skip your mammogram for breast cancer screening.
This is the overall message of an expanded study of more than half a million Swedish women. Those who missed even a recommended screening mammogram were more likely to die from breast cancer, the study said.
The new findings, published March 2 in the journal Radiology, concern the widespread delays and abandonment of health screenings that occurred in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You can save your own life by making sure you get your regular, routine mammograms,” said Dr. Marisa Weiss, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Breastcancer.org and Breasthealth.org in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
“A mammogram doesn’t increase the risk of COVID,” said Weiss, who was not involved in the new study. “Make the call. Hospitals are safe; your mammograms can save your life.”
When done regularly, screening mammograms can detect breast cancer at its most treatable and beatable stages.
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While experts believe mammograms are beneficial, there is debate among medical groups about when and how often to start screening.
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends women with an average risk of breast cancer get their first mammogram at age 50 and then every two years until age 74.
Meanwhile, the American Cancer Society (ACS) says women 40 to 44 year old should consider annual mammograms, which are recommended annually for women 45 to 54 years old. Older women can get mammograms every two years if they prefer, ACS says.
In the new study, women who showed up for their two routine exams prior to being diagnosed with breast cancer were 50% less likely to die of breast cancer within 10 years than women who avoided mammograms. Women who missed one of their last two recommended checkups were about 30% less likely to die from breast cancer, the study showed.
The study included more than 549,000 Swedish women from 1992 to 2016. During this time, 40 to 54 year olds were recommended to have a mammogram every 18 months. Screening for people aged 55 to 69 should be done every two years.
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“For women of screening age, the takeaway message is to attend regularly scheduled screenings,” said study author Stephen Duffy, professor of cancer screening at Queen Mary University in London. “For providers, the message is to make the screening experience as safe, acceptable, and positive as possible so that women will come back for their next screen.”
Screening mammography saves lives, said Dr. Laurie Margolies, director of breast imaging at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, who reviewed the results.
“Every now and then, a mammogram isn’t enough if you want to reduce the chances of dying from breast cancer,” she said. “If you miss an annual mammogram, the chances of dying from breast cancer increase.”
Weiss agreed that getting your recommended mammogram is important: “Don’t let it slide and slide. You don’t want to miss a year.”
If your mammogram has been canceled due to the pandemic, reschedule today, she advised.
However, if you recently had a COVID-19 vaccination, be aware that the lymph nodes on the side where the shot was taken can swell. Because the swollen lymph nodes may become visible on X-rays, the Society of Breast Imaging recently recommended that women wait four weeks after vaccination to get a mammogram.
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More information
To learn more about the benefits of screening mammograms, visit Breastcancer.org.
SOURCES: Dr. med. Marisa Weiss, Chief Medical Officer / Founder, Breastcancer.org and Breasthealth.org, Ardmore, PA; Stephen Duffy, MSc, Professor of Cancer Screening at Queen Mary University in London, UK; Laurie Margolies, MD, Chief, Breast Imaging, Mount Sinai Health System, New York City; Radiology, March 2, 2021
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