Breast specialist: Mammography guidelines ‘can be really confusing, even for physicians’

When to start? And how often after that? The mammography deliberations get a long, thoughtful airing in the pages of the Press Democrat newspaper based in Santa Rosa, California.

“It can be really confusing even for their physicians,” breast specialist Gretchen Smith, MD, tells the outlet. “It’s a moving target.”

Indeed it is.

“[T]he shifting guidelines mean women and their health care providers must navigate conflicting advice in an area that already provokes apprehension and fear among patients,” the paper reports. “In addition, doctors like Smith, a strong advocate of starting mammograms at 40, can find themselves at odds with the facility where they work. Sutter Health, where Smith practices, recommends women generally wait until age 50.”

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Dave Pearson

Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.

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