June 23, 2017

New Guidelines Dial Back on Routine Mammograms for Women Under 50

Women in their forties should consult with their physicians, the revised breast cancer screening recommendations say.

Nurse with woman having a mammogram

choja/Getty Images

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Mammograms need not be routine until women at average risk for breast cancer turn 50, according to revised recommendations released yesterday by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

Women in their 40s, say the guidelines, should consult with their health care providers about the risks and benefits of mammograms before beginning screenings every one to two years. After age 75, women should discuss with their doctors whether to continue screenings, considering their current health and life expectancy. Previously, ACOG had recommended annual screenings for all women starting at age 40.

The National Cancer Institute, a government agency, estimates that about 12.4 percent of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives. It’s most frequently diagnosed among women aged 55-64, and results in about 40,000 deaths per year.

ACOG’s updated recommendations arrive amid mounting evidence that the risks of mammograms may outweigh the benefits, especially for women under 50. In a 2015 Mother Jones feature, Christie Aschwanden dug into mammogram science and found that, while mammograms do save some lives, some women end up with unnecessary and even potentially harmful treatments.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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