I ignored the mammogram notification that popped up in my health network's online portal when I turned 40. It was the summer of 2020, and breast cancer seemed like a remote health concern in the context of a pandemic. And I delayed at 41, distracted by work and life — eventually scheduling my first mammogram for late October 2021. The results came back clear, but with a caveat—"the breast tissue is heterogeneously dense, which could obscure detection of small masses" — and a recommendation: a routine follow-up in one year.
I could have delayed again. National guidance on mammograms for people in their forties is mixed, with little clarity on whether to be screened or how often. The American Cancer Society recommends that women with an average risk for breast cancer "have the option" to be screened at age 40 — and, more forcefully, that women between 45 and 54 "should" have annual mammograms. Starting in 2009, though, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that mammograms begin at age 50 for women with average risk, and that screenings should occur every two years.
