BREAST CANCER

Mammograms Before 50 May Save Lives

Says new study.

A new study from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has found that mammograms given before the age of 50 could sharply reduce breast cancer deaths. The research followed women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1990 and 1999. Out of 609 women who died from breast cancer, 71 percent never had a mammogram before their diagnosis. Half of the deaths were women who were younger than 50. The findings are sure to cause some controversy. For years women were told to start getting mammograms around the age of 40, but in 2009, the United States Preventive Services Task Force released guidelines that said women shouldn't start until age 50.