Last week, the United States Preventive Services Task Force released new mammogram recommendations for American women. While nothing has changed here in Canada – in fact, the new U.S. recommendations mirror the Canadian Cancer Society’s current guidelines (clinical breast exams at least every two years for women 40 and older; mammograms every two years for women 50 and older) – a lot of confusion still exists about breast cancer screening. Today I interviewed Dr. Lavina Lickley, an MD who has conducted extensive research on breast cancer prevention. To boot, she’s also a survivor of the disease. Dr. Lickley expertly answered every mammography question I could think of – believe me, I had plenty – and you can read our interview in the February 2010 issue of Chatelaine (it’ll be on newsstands before you know it). But, I wanted to tell you today about the single best piece of advice she has for women who aren’t at higher risk for breast cancer, when it comes to getting a mammogram:
“Never till 35, always at 50; in between 35 and 50, any reason is a good reason.”
Sound advice from a very smart woman.
