The American Cancer Society says about 25 percent of women who die from breast cancer were diagnosed in their 40s. Yet, in an unexpected and unfortunate move, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently finalized its draft breast cancer screening guidelines, raising the age women should begin regular screening from 40 to 50. They did this despite the fact that Congress recently passed legislation that prevents these recommendations from being implemented. As a breast surgeon who treats high-risk black women with breast cancer every day, I can tell you from experience that these guidelines do a disservice to women everywhere.
Although these guidelines legally cannot go into effect, they still put women at risk. Many women are unaware that Congress intervened to preserve women’s access to free annual mammograms. However, with national news coverage of the finalized task force guidelines, many women will likely hear that the USPSTF raised the screening age and believe they have to wait until 50 to get their first mammogram. In 2009, when this same task force attempted and failed to execute these same misguided recommendations, we saw a disturbing increase in women delaying their mammograms.
Raising the age to begin screening from 40 to 50 is simply dangerous. We know that lives are saved when breast cancer is detected and treated earlier. In fact, the most rigorous scientific studies have always shown a decline in breast cancer deaths from screening women at age 40. Plus, 50 is not a magic number; none of the parameters of screening change suddenly at the age of 50 or any other age, and there is no scientific or biological reason to delay screening until 50. The truth is, if women who are currently in their 30s were to wait until 50 to be screened every two years, it is estimated that as many as 100,000 women would lose their lives to breast cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Network computer models. These are lives that could have been saved through early detection starting at 40.
All women are jeopardized by delaying the onset of screening, but certain populations, including the African-American community, are particularly affected. Black women get cancer on average five to seven years earlier than white women and have a 42 percent higher mortality rate. Black women also tend to get more aggressive, faster-growing breast cancer and tend to have cancers detected later.
As someone who cares for patients whose lives are saved by early detection every single day, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that women continue to screen early and often. If we can’t find it, we can’t treat it.
DR. REGINA HAMPTON is a board-certified breast surgeon and co-founder of Breast Care for Washington, a nonprofit dedicated to mammography access. She wrote this for the Baltimore Sun.