Since the end of last year when the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced it would no longer support breast cancer screening – mammography – for women under the age of 50, women everywhere have been flocking to cancer centers for more information and reassurance that they will be alright even though early detection has been the number one precaution and preventative measure for many years.

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers or reassurances to this announcement because most doctors find that women in their 40’s should be tested at least every two years for breast cancers, especially if there is a history in their family of breast cancer or other underlying factors like reoccurring cysts or unusual lumps in the breasts.

A mammogram could be performed at a cancer hospital or other breast cancer facility as a precautionary measure for women over 40 who have a history of abnormal self-breast exams or fibrous cysts or women in their immediate family – mother, grandmother, aunts or sisters – who have had breast cancer before.

What the USPSTF did not realize or perhaps did not intend for was the fact that insurance companies are now refusing to cover mammograms for woman under the age of 50, even if their doctors are prescribing this life-saving cancer screening.

Another factor the USPSTF did not address in their findings and subsequent rejection of mammogram screenings is the fact that men also get breast cancer, although it is severely under reported.

Many cancer hospitals are updating their services to include education in addition to the screening process and this will help the millions of women who are unsure of the USPSTF recommendation of not having mammograms until they are in their 50’s. But the best advice the CDC – Center for Disease Control – and many other organizations gave at the time of the USPSTF ‘bombshell’ was to consult with your physician and see what he or she recommends for your individual case. Taking this recommendation on a case by case process is the best way to handle such a wide sweeping suggestion that affects millions of women.