Essential Health Tests for Women
In Your 40s: Mammogram
Why you need it: About 227,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Early detection by a mammogram is key — when breast cancer is found in stage 1, there is an 88 percent survival rate.
What the test is like: A mammogram is an X-ray taken with a machine that compresses your breasts in different positions. While temporarily uncomfortable, a mammogram can detect lumps, cysts and tumors that you might not otherwise feel or see.
When to start: Talk to your doctor to determine when and how often you should be screened for breast cancer. It varies depending on your risk factors. The American Cancer Society recommends that women 40 and older have annual mammograms; the USPSTF recommends women start getting mammograms at age 50 and then every two years after that.
Reviewed by Elaine Brown, MD on November 26, 2013
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