Nearly 1 in 5 women do not plan to get a mammogram

A national survey of women aged 18 years or older found that 17% have never gotten a mammogram and have no plans of getting one, according to a press release.

The survey, which was commissioned by Orlando Health, specifically found that 22% of women aged 35 to 44 years never plan to have a mammogram, despite recently updated guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommending women with an average risk for breast cancer begin getting yearly mammograms at age 40 years.

“Mammograms can pick up tumors that are extremely small and result in a diagnosis at a stage 0 or 1 vs. waiting for a patient to feel a lump and then by then it's probably a stage 2 or 3,” Nikita Shah, MD, the medical oncology team leader for the Breast Care Center at the Orlando Health Cancer Institute, said in the release. “That’s the difference between a lumpectomy and possibly a short course of radiation and more extensive treatments that involve chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries. Survival also goes from nearly 100% at stage 0 to 50% to 70% for those diagnosed at stage 2 or 3.”

According to the survey, 27% of women who have not yet gotten a mammogram but plan to get one, with 9% planning to start getting mammograms at the age of 40 years.

Of note, 49% of non-Hispanic Black women had gotten a mammogram, with only 17% starting their mammogram screening at the recommended age of 40 years; 26% got their first mammogram before age 40 years and 6% got a mammogram after age 40 years.

Among the 34% of non-Hispanic Black women who planned to get a mammogram, 16% intended to get mammograms starting at age 40 years, whereas 10% planned to start before age 40 years and 8% planned to start after age 40 years.

However, 17% of non-Hispanic Black women never had a mammogram and had no plans of getting one in the future, according to the survey.

“African American women tend to have a more aggressive disease course, and we want everybody, regardless of their race, to be aware and get their recommended mammograms,” Shah said in the release. “Breast cancer is one of the few cancers where the survival rate is very high when caught early, and we know that early detection is where we can really make a difference.”

Additionally, the survey revealed that 43% of women knew their family history of breast cancer and only 32% knew their individual risk factors for breast cancer.

Concerningly, the survey also found that only 40% of women had talked to their doctor about breast cancer or when they should begin screening and 11% skipped recommended screenings.

“Women should begin talking to their primary care physician or gynecologist in their 20s to assess their risks and determine when mammograms should start,” according to the release. “Monthly self-breast exams are also important to help women understand what is normal for them, so they can recognize any changes and bring them to their doctor’s attention.”