While mammograms save lives, they can also cause harm, and each group does a different job of balancing the pros and cons. Otis Brawley, the society’s chief medical officer. ‘The chance that you’re going to find a cancer and save a life is actually very small,’ said Dr. The ACS now says women 55 and older can transition to mammograms every other year.Īn exhaustive review of the medical literature shows these measures just aren’t very effective, according to the group.
Now, the ACS is recommending mammograms for women beginning at age 45 rather than 40, and saying that annual routine manual breast exams can be discarded. This is a 180-degree pivot for the organization. The American Cancer Society has issued new guidelines stating that fewer screenings for breast cancer are better than more.
