Women Neglecting Annual Mammograms

From the Associated Press, via Findlaw: "Study: Few Women Get Annual Mammograms," by Daniel Yee.

After more than a decade of urging by doctors that women over 40 should receive mammograms yearly, few actually do so, according to a large cancer study.

Only 6 percent of women who received a mammogram in 1992 received mammograms yearly for the next 10 years, according to a study of 72,417 women of all ages at Massachusetts General Hospital, the largest look at mammography to date.

The American Cancer Society recommends that all women 40 and older receive a mammogram and a breast exam yearly. Younger women are encouraged to receive a breast exam every three years.