Why doesn the American Cancer Society recommend breast self-exams for cancer detection?
There is not enough strong data to show that breast self-exam helps with early detection. There are also limits to self-exams. It is impossible to tell the difference between a benign and a malignant tumor by feel alone. Women do sometimes find lumps that are cancer during breast self-exams. But self-exams have not been shown to reduce the number of women who die from breast cancer. Mammography and clinical breast exams have been shown to cut cancer deaths. Mammograms can detect tumors years before a lump can be felt. Breast cancer is much more treatable if the tumor is detected early. What are the guidelines for detecting breast cancer early? Experts disagree about the best age for women at average risk of breast cancer to start getting mammograms: • The American Cancer Society recommends that women have a mammogram and clinical breast exam every year starting at age 40. • The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) suggests that women start having mammograms at age 50 and repeat
