Whether women under 50 should have routine mammograms is controversial. One argument against them is that breast tissue is so dense in premenopausal women that mammography fails to detect enough breast cancers to make the screening test cost effective. The AMA, the American Cancer Society, American College of Radiology, and major cancer centers, however, strongly support regular mammographic screening for women between the ages of 40 and 49, particularly since advances in mammography are making detection more accurate even in denser breast tissue. For those with risk factors, including a close family member with the disease, annual mammograms should begin 10 years earlier than the age at which the relative was diagnosed. Those with no special risk factors should then be tested every one to two years until age 50, after which screening should be annual.
Elderly women are particularly likely to have non-malignant abnormalities in their breasts.
Uninsured women or those who have not been referred to a mammogram center can contact their local American Cancer Society for available low-cost programs. A number of studies have suggested that regular exercise may lower a woman's risk for breast cancer. A recent study of 100,000 nurses, however, suggested that its benefits for breast health may be greater or lesser at different times in a woman's life, depending on her menstrual status and estrogen levels. For example, the study found no added protection from exercise in young adulthood, when breast cancer is an uncommon event in any case. Diet Claims for dietary protection or risk run rampant.