Screening & mammograms
Self-checks help you notice change. Mammograms find cancers too small to feel. They do different jobs, and you want both.
Two major bodies publish screening guidance for women at average risk, and they don't fully agree. Neither is wrong — they weigh the same evidence differently. Here is what each says, so you can talk it through with your own doctor.
American Cancer Society
- 40 to 44 — you have the option to start annual mammograms if you want to
- 45 to 54 — a mammogram every year
- 55 and over — switch to every two years, or carry on yearly
- Keep screening as long as you're in good health and expected to live at least ten more years
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
- 40 to 74 — a mammogram every other year
- The Task Force says the evidence isn't yet clear enough to advise either way for women 75 and over, or on extra scans for dense breasts
Most plans have to cover screening mammograms as preventive care, without a copay. What that means for you depends on your plan, so check yours.
All of the above is for women at average risk. If yours is higher — a strong family history, a known gene change, or chest radiation when you were young — the advice is different: usually an MRI and a mammogram every year, often starting at 30. There are two calculators that can give you a number. Know your risk →
After a mastectomy
Screening changes. A reconstructed breast is not usually given mammograms; the chest is checked by physical examination instead. If you still have your other breast, it carries on being screened as normal. Knowing what is normal for your chest wall matters just as much after surgery as before it — new lumps, thickening or skin changes are still worth a call.
The ACS does not recommend clinical breast exams as a screening test for women at average risk. That isn't a reason to skip appointments — it's a reason not to rely on them instead of a mammogram.
Sources: American Cancer Society — screening guidelines; U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; ACS — mammograms after breast cancer surgery; healthcare.gov — preventive care for women.