Mammogram?

[crispini]

Ok, I am over 35 but under 40. Just got an email from the corporate office pushing free mammograms, saying that women over 35 should get them. This is the first I've heard of that; I always thought it was 40. Is this a real recommendation or more of that over-utilization of health care we get shoved down our necks sometimes?

[trof]

1. Miz t. sez: "40, unless you have a family history of breast cancer, or

when you start going through the change."
She's my expert on feminine medicine.
;-)

[Lars39]

2. From Susan Love's site:

http://www.susanlovemd.org/faq.html#mammography

[crispini]

5. Thank you!

That's exactly what I was wanting to hear.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. It wouldn't hurt to have one in the next year or so...

If for no other reason than to establish baseline films for future comparison...

Where I get mine done, you do it standing up and it's much less difficult than in the good old days, so-called...


And if it's free...go for it...most of us have to pay for them...

Just sayin'.....:shrug:

[Mrs.Matcom]

4. I agree

with California Peggy, Why not if it is free?? They aren't bad, I get mine every year.

[crispini]

8. 'Cause....

Found this on the link above:

"The reason mammograms are not recommended for breast cancer screening for women under age 40 is not that we don't want to pay for it but rather that mammography is not a good screening tool in women under 40. This has to do with age and how our breasts change during our lifetimes.

After menopause, women's fatty breasts look gray on mammography, and cancer--which is white on mammography-- shows up much better against this background. In premenopausal women, however, breast tissue tends to be denser because the breasts have to be ready to make milk at a moment's notice. And this dense tissue is white on a mammogram, just like cancer. This makes looking for cancer on a young woman's mammogram like looking for a polar bear in the snow. It just is not accurate. It is not that we want to deprive young women of their God-given right to be radiated. It's just that the benefits in this age group are just not worth it. "

and...

"I don't recommend mammograms for most women earlier than age 40, because younger women have a higher risk of radiation-induced breast cancer. "

:scared:

Sounds like a good reason NOT to have one to me. I knew I'd heard something like that somewhere.

[Mrs.Matcom]

10. Oh...sorry

I have never heard of that before. I had my first one done at 37, but I was also in full menopause due to radiation and chemo. Maybe you shouldn't have one after reading what you posted above. :shrug:

[crispini]

I have a deep-seated distrust of Western medicine.

For that matter, of most medicine. I'm all into, "let the buyer beware." :P

[Mrs.Matcom]

15. I know what you mean

I also try to stay away from a lot of it! :-)

[crispini]

11. I have a deep-seated distrust of Western medicine.

For that matter, of most medicine. I'm all into, "let the buyer beware." :P

[redqueen]

6. My Doc said the same thing as Miz t.

If you have a family history, 35... if not, 40.

I need one... sheesh I'm nearly 36. :scared:

[tonkatoy57]

7. Get One. Just for the hell of it.

My wife, age 42, found a lump in her breast Sunday evening. She went to her OB/GYN this morning and has a mammogram and other tests scheduled for tomorrow.
From my wife I've heard it's like having your breast slammed in a car door, but the discomfort might be worth it.
I'm trying to remain calm and un-flustered but this is right at the top of my list of things to freak out about. Both her mother and grandmother have had breast cancer and it's always been the elephant in the room.
Better safe than sorry. If an exam is offered go ahead and take it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and free is free.

[Mrs.Matcom]

9. Welcome to DU

And extra good thoughts heading your way that the lump is nothing serious!! :hi:

[trof]

12. Why, just WHY, does this crap ALWAYS happen on a week-end?

It just never fails.
Hope your wife is fine and welcome to DU.
:hi:

[tonkatoy57]

16. Thanks. I appreciate it.

I'm 90% sure that everything will be okay. She has a history of fiberous tissue, but this was a little more pronounced so she was in a low grade freak about it.

Her OB/GYN did the old, "hmmm, hmmm, yeah, i see, hmmm", at her appointment this morning. Nothing like a little non commitment to ease your worries. Oh well.

And thanks for the welcome Trof and MrsMatcom. I've been around since shortly after 911. I've been an avid reader but not a poster.

[caty]

13. You are supposed to

get your first mammogram in your 30's. This is the one that they will compare the others that you get to. It's important so that they can see any changes in the years to come.

[tigereye]

14. I have been having them since I was 35 and I'm now well

into my 40s. At least it seems like that long! There is some family history, though, in my elderly female relatives on my dads side, though. So maybe that's why. I don't think it hurts to have one
well, it is damned uncomfortable!), but my doctor told me I could probably go every two years, since there is some debate raging about how they can't necessarily pick up very small changes and the self-breast exams might actually be just as helpful.

However, the mammogram folks where I went said it should be every year. So, I just go every year. It makes me feel a little better about it.

[calico1]

17. I had a baseline when I was 32. My boobs

are lumpy so it would be more difficult to detect a tumor. So my dr. recommended I get one.

[myrna minx]

21. Interesting.

I guess it would be important to have a baseline for the cysts one already has. Thanks for the idea.

[KitchenWitch]

18. A baseline should be done between 35 and 40

then annually after the age of 40

[cally]

19. Well, I'm a big advocate of mammograms

I would get one between 35 to 40. This will act as a baseline to compare future breast changes to. My cancer was found (pre-menopause) with a mammogram. I had no other symptoms and no reason to worry about cancer. I'm a pest with my women friends about mammograms now. Just get it.

[IcyPeas]

20. 48 haven't had one yet.

in the U.K. they still recommend 50 as the age. I'm also afraid of x-ray induced cancer.......