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American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Screening Guideline

American Cancer Society breast cancer screening guidelines are developed to save lives by finding breast cancer early, when treatment is more likely to be successful. The Society regularly reviews the science and updates screening recommendations when new evidence suggests that a change may be needed.

The latest guideline applies to women at average risk for breast cancer. Among other recommendations, it says all women should begin having yearly mammograms by age 45, and can change to having mammograms every other year beginning at age 55. Women should have the choice to start screening with yearly mammograms as early as age 40 if they want to.

Understanding the Guideline

  • Graphic: Breast Cancer Screening Guideline
  • American Cancer Society Updates Breast Cancer Guideline
  • FAQ: The American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Screening Guideline
  • American Cancer Society recommendations for early breast cancer detection in women without breast symptoms
  • Recomendaciones de la Sociedad Americana Contra El Cáncer sobre la detección temprana del cáncer de seno en las mujeres sin síntomas en sus senos

Videos About the Guideline

  • American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Screening Guideline Overview
  • The Science Behind the Breast Cancer Screening Guideline

Information for Professionals

  • Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines
  • In JAMA: Breast Cancer Screening for Women at Average Risk: 2015 Guideline Update From the American Cancer Society
  • In JAMA: Benefits and Harms of Breast Cancer Screening: A Systematic Review
  • Systematic Review of Cancer Screening Literature for Updating American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

News Coverage of the Breast Cancer Guideline

  • Inside Sources: Why the American Cancer Society Is Recommending Mammograms Start Later and Are Performed Less Frequently
  • CBS News: American Cancer Society changes mammogram guidelines
  • LA Times: American Cancer Society abandons 'one size fits all' advice on mammograms
  • Providence Journal: Breast cancer revisited
  • Greenville News: Mammogram changes are not radical

More Information 

  • Learn More About Breast Cancer
  • Aprenda más sobre el cáncer de seno
  • American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer
  • Guías de la Sociedad Americana Contra El Cáncer para la detección temprana del cáncer
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