It is officially breast cancer awareness month and time to pay closer attention to your health.
The check up for a woman’s breast is often controversial. The US Preventive Services Task Force suggests that mammograms are just optional for women ages 40-49, and is recommended for women ages 50-74.
According to Chelsea Now, in the news article entitled “Innovative Breast Care in the Heart of Chelsea, Dr. Susan K. Boolbol, chief of the Appel-Venet Breast Service located at the Mount Sinai Beth Israel’s Hospital in Chelsea states:
“Our program’s position is similar to the position of any national or international organization that deals with breast cancer,” she says. “Average risk women should start screening mammograms at forty years old, and have them every year.”
At this particular cancer center, in a study of 7,500 mammograms of women ages 40-49, there were enough breast cancer cases to prove that middle aged women should conduct a mammogram every year.
Dr. Sarah Cate, lead physician for the Special Surveillance Breast Program also recommends being even more cautious if you have a history of Breast Cancer in your family.
“Women who have a strong history of breast cancer risk start screening ten years prior to the age of the first person who developed breast cancer in the family.”
More information on this particular breast service center can be found: here
-by Samantha Rice
