October 20, 2000 has been designated National Mammography Day by the American College of Radiology (ACR). On the third Friday this October, many mammography facilities will be offering free or reduced-cost screening mammograms as part of breast cancer awareness month. To help detect breast cancer early when the chances for a complete cure are the greatest, all women should receive annual mammograms once they reach 40 years of age.
In 1999, over 2,200 ACR-accredited mammography facilities participated in National Mammography Day. This year on National Mammography Day, many mobile mammography units will also offer free or reduced cost mammograms. Although October 20, 2000 has been designated National Mammography Day, many mammography facilities will be offering discounts on screening mammograms throughout the month of October. There are currently over 10,000 ACR-accredited mammography facilities in the U.S.
To learn which mammography facilities are participating in National Mammography Day on October 20, 2000, women are encouraged to call one of the following organizations:
- American Cancer Society: 1.800.227.2345
- Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation: 1.800.462.9273
- The National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO): 1.800.719.9154
- Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization: 1.800.221.2141
Each of these organizations has been given a list of participating mammography facilities early in September and will keep this information on file through the end of October 2000.
National Mammography Day was created to help educate women about the importance of early breast cancer detection. The American Cancer Society, the American College of Radiology, the American College of Surgeons and the American Medical Association all recommend that women begin receiving annual mammograms at age 40.
Guidelines for the early
detection of breast cancer:
- All women between 20 and 39 years of age
should practice monthly breast self-exams and have a physician
performed clinical breast exam at least
every three years.
- All women 40 years of age and older
should have annual screening mammograms, practice monthly breast self-exams, and have
yearly clinical breast exams.
- Women with a family history of breast
cancer or those who test positive for the BRCA1 (breast
cancer gene 1) or BRCA2 (breast cancer gene 2)
mutations may want to talk to their physicians about beginning annual screening mammograms
earlier than age 40, as early as age 25 in some cases.
Additional Resources and References
- To learn more about National Mammography Day, please visit the American College of Radiology (ACR) website at http://www.acr.org/departments/pub_rel/mammography_day/index.asp
- To learn more about mammography, please visit http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/mammography.asp
- To learn more about early breast cancer detection methods, please visit http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/earlydetection.asp
- To find a mammography facility by city, state, or zip code, please visit http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/mammo_locations.asp
