GREENSBORO, N.C. — A new study recommends women should be screened for breast cancer every other year, beginning at age 40.
That's 10 years soon than the previous recommendation.
An Oncology manager at Cone Health says she's always pushed for age 40. She shared with me the importance of early detection.
"Over 20 years I've seen the guidelines change quite a bit, I've seen them go back and forth. I'm really excited to see them going back towards the 40," Cone Health Oncology Outreach Manager Christine Brannock said.
Brannock said breast cancer diagnosis in women has risen in their health system.
"Since 2001 we were diagnosing 188,000 women a year now it’s around 350,000," Brannock said.
While that number might sound alarming, she says many women have been surviving it because doctors are finding it much earlier with the help of mammograms.
"It can detect them as millimeters in size which is really small. It can also detect breast cancer that might be posterior in the breast kind of far back, which those again are very difficult," Brannock explained.
Brannock says the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer increases as a woman ages. That's why she's elated over the US Preventative Task Force's recommendation to start getting mammograms at 40.
"Here at Cone Health, we have recommended mammograms at age 40," Brannock said. "It's important that women are aware of their breasts and notice any changes and that they get them to check, and the idea is to get them to check before there are any symptoms."
Awareness is key, at any age.
Lorelei Colbert, who used to live in Greensboro, knows first-hand the importance of knowing your body. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of triple-negative Breast Cancer in her 20s.
"Doing self-exams once a month and that is 5 minutes of your time but you just lift your arm and you make sure you go all the way around your breast and you really know you get to know your body, your breast health because everybody is different," Colbert said.
The task force says women in their 40's should get mammograms every other year. Brannock says Cone Health recommends getting checked annually.
"Most insurance companies do continue and have continued to pay for them yearly also for women that are uninsured or underinsured we do have programs for those women," Brannock said.