When Should You Get Your First Mammogram? Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines, Explained

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women, according to the American Cancer Society. In fact, 42,000 women and 500 men in the US die each year from breast cancer, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And Black women are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, according to the American Cancer Society.

Breast cancer screenings can be crucial in detecting breast cancer early on, and mammograms are the most common screening test. The examination involves using a low-dose X-ray performed by radiologists to look for changes and abnormalities in breast tissue that may signal cancer.

While the procedure may be a tad uncomfortable, it shouldn't hurt. And ultimately, the benefits outweigh the temporary discomfort, as research has shown that mammography has helped reduce breast cancer mortality in the US by nearly 40 percent since 1990, making it a critical preventative measure. But since breast cancer screening guidelines are ever-changing, you may be confused about when is the right time to go in for your first official mammogram.

Breast cancer screening guidelines vary by age, but don't yet start for most individuals until age 40. If you're not yet close to 40, you can still be taking proactive measures to check your breasts and make sure that you know how they normally look and feel. While breast self-exams aren't considered "effective in detecting cancer or improving the survival rate for women who have breast cancer," the Mayo Clinic reports, "doctors believe there is value in women being familiar with their own breasts, so they understand what's normal and promptly report changes."

According to May 2023 draft guidelines released by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), women and those assigned female at birth should be screened for breast cancer every other year starting at age 40. (This recommendation stands for people with a family history of breast cancer and those with other risk factors such as having dense breasts.) Previously, it was recommended that breast cancer screenings begin at age 50 and those under 50 could discuss getting screened with their healthcare provider.

"New and more inclusive science about breast cancer in people younger than 50 has enabled us to expand our prior recommendation and encourage all women to get screened in their 40s," the task force said in a statement. "We have long known that screening for breast cancer saves lives, and the science now supports all women getting screened, every other year, starting at age 40."

"If all women followed our new recommendation, we could reduce mortality from breast cancer in the US by about 20 percent," Carol Mangione, MD, previous chair of the USPSTF and coauthor of the new recommendation, told NPR in an interview. So if you're in your 40s or getting close to it, and you haven't yet gotten your first mammogram, you can talk to your healthcare provider about the new guidelines and when you should get screened.

According to the USPSTF, "current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening mammography in women age 75 years or older." In fact, a new study has shown that getting mammograms over the age of 70 was more likely to result in a tumor diagnosis that otherwise poses no health threat. In women ages 74 to 84, up to 47 percent of the breast cancer cases found through mammograms were considered "overdiagnosed" which is defined as "the diagnosis of a medical condition, typically through screening, that otherwise would not have led to symptoms or problems in a person's lifetime," according to Reuters. So if you or a loved one is in your mid-70s, it's worth having a conversation with a healthcare provider about whether or not you still need a mammogram.