All your mammogram and breast cancer screening questions, answered by medical experts
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New guidance says breast cancer screenings should start 10 years earlier than previously recommended, meaning mammograms for women at average risk should be done every other year beginning at age 40. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of national experts who issued the draft guidance Tuesday, estimates that the change could result in 19% more lives saved from the disease. Aside from skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society , accounting for about 30% of all new female cancers each year. To help better understand the process, we've gathered answers to the most common mammogram and breast cancer screening questions: What are mammograms? A mammogram is an X-ray picture of the breast used to look for early signs of breast cancer. Standing in front of a special X-ray machine, your breast will be firmly pressed