When do you get regular mammograms? breast cancer does not run in my family, but i want to make sure i'm doing everything to stay in good health. at what age do you recommend women start getting mammograms?

Currently, : Currently, at our institution we recommend that a woman with no risk factors begin yearly screening mammography at age 40. However, the recommendation for beginning screening mammography has become more controversial due to the recently published recommendations by the us preventative services task force which recommends screening mammography for women age 50 to 74 years. A rationale behind this recommendation is that screening mammography in women age 40 - 49 years results in more false positive results with comparatively few cancers detected. Currently, both the american college of radiology and the american cancer society recommend yearly screening beginning at 40 years of age.

At 40: For my patients, i recommend a yearly mammogram starting at age 40.

40: You should start getting annual mammograms at age 40.