Mammography Saves Lives ™ Campaign Helps Clear Confusion

Women confused about when to have a mammogram have a new interactive source of information http://www.MammographySavesLives.org — launching this week along with a series of public service announcements on television and radio stations across the country. To clear confusion, reduce unnecessary breast cancer deaths, and help women avoid extensive treatment for advanced cancers that went undetected because they did not get annual mammograms, the American College of Radiology (ACR), the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI), and the American Society of Breast Disease (ASBD) have launched the Mammography Saves Lives™ (MSL) campaign. The MSL coalition has produced a series of TV and radio public service announcements, featuring breast cancer survivors, diagnosed in their 40s with the aid of mammography, who urge women to begin getting annual mammograms at age 40 and inform them that:

Mammography has helped reduce the breast cancer death rate by nearly 1/3 since 1990

Mammography can detect cancer early when it’s most treatable and can be treated less invasively

¾ of women diagnosed have no family history of breast cancer or other factors that put them at high risk for developing the disease (so screening only high risk women misses majority of cancers).