Declining Mammography Rates Mean More Women May Discover Cancer at Later Stages

Newswise — Risks versus rewards: it’s a simple equation we often use in making decisions. For women considering mammography, the decision should be easy, according to Scott Woomer, M.D., breast radiologist and interventionalist on the medical staff at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine.

“When you consider an hour out of your day usually once a year, some possible discomfort and the relatively low cost of mammography compared to not finding breast cancer at an early stage—which could save your life—it’s just not worth putting it off,” said Dr. Woomer.

A 2007 report from the American Cancer Society, however, shows that more women are putting it off. Mammography rates appear to be stabilizing or slightly declining after increasing for more than a decade, according to the report. Dr. Woomer partially credits this decline to women’s fears that mammography is painful.

“We’ve got to do a better job showing the steps we’ve taken to make mammography more comfortable,” said Dr. Woomer.

source: Baylor Health System