These guidelines apply only to women who do not have any symptoms or signs of breast cancer, such as a lump or other change in the breast. If you have any symptoms, you should contact your doctor immediately. Just being a woman and getting older puts you at risk for breast cancer. If you have a mother, sister, or daughter who has had breast cancer, your chances of getting this disease increase. However, most women who get breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease.
Breast cancer can strike any woman.
A mammogram is a special x-ray picture of the breast. It is designed to find cancer in its earliest stages - even before you feel a lump or have any other symptoms. And, in many cases, less extensive surgery can be used to treat the disease, often saving the breast. Every woman age 40 and older should get mammograms regularly. Because your breasts change as you grow older, you should make this test part of your regular routine.