My mom was shocked when I casually mentioned that I'd never had a mammogram - she said she'd started having them as soon as she went to a gynecologist at 18. I'm 31, and my OB/GYN has never mentioned it to me, so I'm assuming guidelines must have changed at some point between our generations - just wondering when other women had their first mammogram? Was it routine or directly because of something abnormal?
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I haven't yet but my OBGYN said this year since I turn 40.
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I thought the guidelines were 40+ unless you had a family history in which case they would start sooner.
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40 and every year after that
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I voted “haven’t had one yet” – I just talked about this with both my GYN and my primary care doctor a couple months ago as I had both annual exams recently and because my mom was all over me about never having one and needing to get one done ASAP.
Both doctors told me not to expect them until I was over 40 unless I had some specific risks/reasons for getting them done earlier, which I do but not much before 40. They want me to start getting them at 38 due to the age my mother was when she had breast cancer. I pushed to have them do one now but my doctor said 1) my insurance company is unlikely to approve payment unless there is a medical reason now, which there isn’t; and 2) breast tissue is (apparently!) much denser until our 40’s and that makes reading mammograms harder and ups the risk of a scan needing a follow-up, which again, the insurance company is unlikely to approve. So there you go!
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@yoursilverlining: That's super helpful - thanks for the info!
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I'm almost 31 and have never had one. My GYN suggested starting at 35 because my mom had breast cancer, but if I didn't have a history I believe I'd be starting at 40. She even found a lump at my well woman exam a couple of years ago and I just had to have a diagnostic ultrasound done...no mammogram.
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I've never had one. Sometimes I wish they did do these tests at younger ages, it can't hurt.
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I haven't had one yet but plan to start at 40. My friend is 26 and she started getting them at 20 due to her family history of breast cancer.
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I got one when I was 29-- I have a family history on both sides of my family (my mom was diagnosed at age 40, and my paternal grandmother as well) so that was a definite red flag to my ob/gyn even though I've also been tested for the brca gene and tested negative. My ob would have waited to start after 30, but bc I was ttc she wanted me to get screened beforehand-- you can't get a mammogram while pregnant or breastfeeding, and she wanted to get a baseline reading before hand. She also wanted me to get screened in between pregnancies but I got pregnant only a couple months after weaning and there wasn't enough time. So there will be a long break in between mammograms for me, at least 4 years but prob more-- I nursed lo1 22 months and hope to nurse lo2 for a lobby time too
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I just had my first at 35.
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35. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at 50. My OB recommended starting mammograms 10 years preceding my Mom's age, which would be 40, which is the standard recommendation. They still did one at 35 to establish a baseline.
Also regarding breastfeeding, I was told that I had to wait 6 months post breast feeding. I was delayed on mine at 40 because I was pregnant. When I tried to do it postpartum, that was my new guideline to follow.
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I had my 1st in my early 30s due to a lump I'd found, coupled with the fact I was going to soon move out of state. My ob-gyn at the time had seen my mom, too & she had fibroids (I think even one removed?), so we just wanted to be cautious. I had a follow up the next year, and then resumed at 40yrs old. This is a good reminder to schedule another as I've lapsed for 2 yrs now with pregnancy & breastfeeding.
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@MamaG: wow, delay 6mos after bf?! I'll have to check with my Dr. I got 2 different answers soon after giving birth, one that it was fine WHILE bf, the other that it was ok to wait until I was done bf, but nothing about how long after. Truth is, I am still bf a couple/few times a day, but never feel very full, so was only thinking about it from a comfort or day-of milk supply issue.
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I haven't had one yet. I'm 26 with no family history of breast cancer.
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@GoGoSnoGirl: Check with the person/office doing the mammogram. My OB misinformed me and sent me because I had stopped nursing. But when we went through the questions at the imaging location they said, sorry, come back in six months.
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Mid 20s, due to family history and OB exam.
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@Boogs: It actually can hurt. Mammograms were not designed for younger breast tissue. Most women less than 30 get an ultrasound instead if there is a concern. Screening in a population with low risk (young women) leads to a lot of false positives which lead ladies to unnecessary biopsies, unnecessary testing, higher medical costs, and a lot of worry.
There are differing opinions from the various medical societies on when routine mammograms should start - some say 40, some say 50.
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I started having them at 25 due to family history. My breast specialist alternates me between mammograms, ultrasounds and the occasional MRI. Unfortunately my mum has passed so because they can't confirm BRCA1 in her I don't qualify for genetic testing.
@GoGoSnoGirl: My specialist is making me wait 9 months after breastfeeding to start testing again! I think the changes in breast tissue make it more difficult to detect abnormalities.
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@sapphire: Ah good info!
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@Boogs: just to follow up on what @sapphire said, I alternate between the different tests every year or two also because there is concern that frequent mammograms from a young age could irradiate the breast and actually cause cancer.
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@MamaG: thanks, I sure will.
@kitty: thanks for sharing your insight as well. Definitely not what I'd expected to hear!
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I had my first at 40, no family history. I was extremely nervous about it but I got the first results right away,
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had one at 31 because i was having a medical issue and they wanted to make sure they weren't missing anything. i think otherwise my doc doesn't start routine ones until 40.
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I haven't had one yet at 28. I feel like I should probably ask for one. My sister in law was diagnosed with breast cancer at 28, after Noticing a lump herself.
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I had my first at 29 due to a strong family history (including early and aggressive cancer, like my mom's).
Now they are suggesting it might be better for me to have MRI instead. My insurance sucks, so I have to seriously weigh the costs.
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I had breast pain about a year ago for a good month. I went in to see my doctor and even then she said she didn't recommend a mammogram due to my age. She said as well that they're not started until after age 40. So I've never had one either.
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@Mrs. Pen: Did they at least do something to try to figure out the source of your pain?
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Current guidelines are 40+ or 10 years before the age your mother had breast cancer. I tested for the gene since my mom has it and am positive (BRCA 2) so I've been getting them for awhile now along with alternating breast MRIs (one of each per year). Fun stuff! I think I started at 28 but had to stop while lactating. My mom was diagnosed at 43.
One of my very best friends was just diagnosed at 36. She went in for an irregularity in her breast and they said they always do a mammogram in those cases...
Also fyi most of the time breast cancer doesn't cause pain although rarely it does. The sample I felt in a model felt like a hard pea. I had a softer large lump after lactating that has stayed put and is not cancer... Also look for skin dimpling like an orange (thick skin) or nipple inversion.
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Nope. I'm in my early 30's.
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Before I turned 18, I may have even been in high school. I had very lumpy breasts (hormones) and it was precautionary. Hurt like hell!
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I'm 35 and haven't had one yet. At my last annual she did feel a lot of dense tissue so she sent me for an ultrasound on both breasts. It's not the dense tissue itself that was worrisome, she was just concerned that if there was a lump somewhere she wouldn't be able to feel it because of the dense tissue. (My mom always had dense breasts as well).
Will not have mammogram till 40 since that is standard and no family history. -
@Boogs: she told me that breast cancer symptoms don't actually usually include pain- there would be a lump, so she wasn't really concerned.
She said the pain was likely hormone related, stress related, or caffeine related. She had me cut caffeine for a month and it actually went away. It was so weird. I drink coffee nearly every day now and it hasn't bothered me since. -
@Mrs Green Grass: yup, that's exactly what my doctor said when I went in for the shooting pain! It was one of the main reasons she wasn't really concerned. Definitely good to know!
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I had one at 38 bc of a lump found.
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@MamaG: sure enough! I had an exam with my PCP today & while she didn't find any info in her references about waiting for a mammogram, when I called the imaging center to ask them, they did say to wait 6mos after weaning, despite my older age. I'm glad I had your warning & also now have that confirmed since I don't have a "stop nursing" date in mind yet.
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Had one at 27 when a lump was found at my annual physical. Was benign.
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32 because of family history, but I am slacking on it and I haven't had one since LO was born. Ugh.
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I haven't had one yet and I'm 36. I can't remember exactly what my Ob/gyn said, but it was either 40 or 45.
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30 when I found a lump. Had a full lumpectomy...it was benign.
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