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Breast Health and Education

Daniel B. Kopans, M.D., Director of Breast Imaging at Massachusetts Genreal Hospital and one of the world's leading experts on mammography offers an opinion regarding screening mammography on behalf of the Society of Breast Imaging.

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“Mammography screening is not perfect. It does not find all cancers and does not find all cancers early enough to cure, but when used by women beginning at the age of 40, it has been shown to markedly reduce the number who die from breast cancer and allows therapy to be more successful. The numbers vary, depending on your age, since the risk of breast cancer goes up steadily with increasing age.

If 1000 women are screened, approximately 80 will be called back for additional evaluation. These are the false positive studies you heard about. Among these 80 women a few extra pictures or an ultrasound will show that there is nothing to be concerned about in approximately 45 of them. In 20 of the 80 women the radiologist may want to have them return in 6 months just to be careful. This means that the risk of what they are seeing being cancer is less than 2%. In approximately 15 women they will recommend a biopsy, which is generally done today with a needle, and, approximately, 5 of these women will be found to have breast cancer.

Obviously, it is your decision, but I recommend that you have a mammogram every year as long as you are in good health and would have treatment if a cancer is found.“