(WWJ) Women are being urged to start getting mammograms at an earlier age.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force on Tuesday announced updated guidance recommending that women ages 40 to 74 get screened every other year.
Previously, it was recommended that women get mammograms every two years, starting at age 50.
Dr. Kimberly Hart, an oncologist with DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Oakland County, Michigan, said the nudge toward earlier screening is meant to address the increasing incidence of breast cancer among women of color.
"We do know in our African-American community and also in our Hispanic community, these women don't have the same access to mammograms. They may have more aggressive cancers diagnosed later," Hart said, speaking live with Tracey McCaskill on WWJ Newsradio 950.
"So, my hope is with the changes with the guidelines we will get more insurance coverage to get these women access to care."
Hart noted, however, that the guidance does not mean a woman can't, or shouldn't, get a mammogram more often.
"I, personally — as a physician and an oncologist — prefer every year," Hart said. "But, basically, a lot of this has to do with statistical analysis, looking at the proper interval."
You know, I think the feeling with the every-other year recommendation is it reduces the burden on the patient, and in that span of time there isn't a huge risk of having a cancer grow quickly," she sad.
Dr. Hart said the U.S. in recent years has been seeing younger women diagnosed in greater numbers, and many of these younger women have more aggressive forms of breast cancer.
Breast cancer is still the second-most common cause of cancer death for U.S. women, with nearly 43,000 women dying from breast cancer in this country each year.