October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month: CDC Recommends Mammograms Every 2 Years Starting at Age 40
Every October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the United States. The annual campaign, dating back to the 1980s, has a single goal: helping more women learn about breast cancer and about screening — catching cancer early.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that the point of breast cancer screening is to find cancer "before there are signs or symptoms of the disease." The agency's key figure: when breast cancer is found at an early, localized stage, more than 99% of women are alive five years after diagnosis. Screening cannot prevent breast cancer, but it can find it when it is easiest to treat.
How should screening be done? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) — an independent panel of doctors and disease experts — recommends that women aged 40 to 74 at average risk get a mammogram every two years. The CDC says that for most women of screening age, a mammogram is currently the best way to find breast cancer early: it can detect changes before they are big enough to feel or cause symptoms, and getting screened on a regular schedule can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer. Women at higher-than-average risk — those with a family history of breast cancer, inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 changes, or previous high-dose radiation to the chest — should talk with their doctor about a personalized screening plan.
Cost keeps many women from screening. The CDC states plainly: most health insurance plans are required to cover screening mammograms every one to two years for women beginning at age 40, with no out-of-pocket cost — no co-pay, deductible or co-insurance. Lack of insurance should not be a barrier either: through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the CDC offers free or low-cost mammograms to those who qualify.
The CDC also urges "breast self-awareness": knowing how your breasts normally look and feel, so you notice changes. Official warning signs include: a new lump in the breast or underarm; swelling or thickening of part of the breast; changes in the size or shape of the breast; dimpling or redness of the breast skin; nipple changes or nipple discharge other than breast milk; and persistent breast or nipple pain. The CDC stresses that many breast changes are caused by conditions other than cancer — but any new or concerning change should be reported to a doctor rather than waiting for the next routine screening.
The agency also lays out the benefits and risks honestly: the benefit is finding cancer early, before it has spread; the risks include false positives (something that looks like cancer but isn't, leading to more tests, expense and anxiety), overdiagnosis (finding cancers that would never have caused problems, and overtreating them), and the small radiation dose from the mammogram itself. That is why the CDC recommends informed and shared decision-making with your doctor before screening.
Where to get screened? A clinic, hospital or doctor's office — call your doctor's office to schedule. The CDC information line is 800-232-4636. The Awareness Month reminder is simple: if you are due for screening, make the appointment this month — and pass this information to a friend or relative of screening age.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：粉红丝带是乳腺癌防治宣传的标志（资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，公有领域。Photo: Pink ribbons, the symbol of breast cancer awareness (file photo). Source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
