What does the new screening mammography guidelines mean to you?

Written by Dr Phillip Chao

On Nov 17th (my mother’s birthday), there was a cataclysmic change in mammography.

The age at which a woman should have her first mammogram was changed from 40 to 50 and the frequency changed from every year to every-other year. Until now, it was believed that yearly mammograms were essential. As a radiologist and the son of a woman whose life was saved by mammography screening (breast cancer survivor since 1993), let me share my perspective on this issue. I trained under Wendy Logan at the University of Rochester. She was one of the pioneers of mammography in the United States. Even in New York City, where I did my radiology residency, I was keenly aware of the bias against mammography. The 1980’s saw the beginning of worldwide screening for breast cancer. Since then, breast cancer rates have been dropping steadily. The war against breast cancer is being won (albeit slowly). Then, came the American College of Radiology’s accreditation of mammography. Countless lives have been saved (including my own mother’s).