Some health jurisdictions are offering annual mammograms to women with denser breasts. — via healthing_ca
Annie Slight first noticed a small lump in her right breast in 2012. She went to her gynecologist who told her not to worry—she’d had a mammogram less than a year before which had come back normal.
Dr. Jean Seely is a professor of radiology at the University of Ottawa and recently lead a study which found Canadian women who are categorized as having the densest breasts—around 10 per cent of women—were diagnosed with fewer cancers between screens if they had a mammogram every year. Across Canada mammograms are typically done every two years for women above the age of 50.
The challenge is that a lot of contradictory and confusing information exists with respect to mammograms. Each province and territory has its own guidelines around what age and how often a woman should be screened. While some recommend screening every two years once a woman hits 50, Seely says annual screening once a woman reaches 40 is more appropriate.