AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Women have been told for nearly two decades to get yearly mammograms screenings after age 40, but today, a new suggestion was made. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women delay getting regular mammograms until age 50.
It also said women between the ages of 50 and 74 get screened every two years instead of one.
The American Cancer Society is standing behind its once a year guidelines beginning at age 40, and so are local doctors.
Harrington Breast Center Medical Director Dr. Gary Aragon said, "while the controversy will continue, the experts have always held that there is nothing definitive saying that we should change the guidelines that we live by."
The Task Force decision was based on an analysis of existing trials that looked at the impact of mammography on breast cancer deaths.
