Mammogram Synthesis Essay

Women can flick on the TV, look at the news stand, or be flipping through the local newspaper and once again see or hear another article on if having a mammogram at 40 is either good for you or whether you shouldn’t have a mammogram. The controversy of having a mammogram at 40 has raged for over 30 years. I have been in the mammography profession for over 11 years and I have seen that early detection of breast cancer saves lives; therefore it is beneficial for women to start their mammograms at 40. Women today are truly confused with all the different studies and recommendations that emerge either through the news on TV, US Preventative Task Force, or in a popular magazines. Constantly mammographers and physicians get the question asked, who should have a mammogram? The American Cancer Society, which was founded in 1913 to raise awareness about cancer, has recommended any woman 40 and over to get regular mammogram screenings. A mammogram …show more content…
I always tell my patients you don’t get to pick if cancer will be a part of your life, but it gets to pick you. Each year, more than 200,000 women in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and nearly 40,000 women are expected to die from the disease. (Komen Foundation) Through education and perseverance from many groups, such as American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, American College of Radiology, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists there has been a decline in the rate of deaths due to breast cancer. Breast cancer is still the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, exceeded by lung cancer. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists at first had agreed with the US Task Force’s guideline changes in 2009 but by the end of 2011 they saw how the information didn’t add up. The ACOG changed their recommendations based on different information published in 2011 by an Oncologists