Research showed that for the 40 to 49 age group, screening of 1,000 women over seven years resulted in 294 false-positive results and prevented less than one cancer death. The guidelines from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care lets women take charge of their health when it comes to breast cancer screening. The recommendations update guidelines from 2011. Routine screening isn’t recommended for women between the ages of 40 and 49 with what experts call a normal risk of breast cancer, while health professionals say normal-risk women aged 50 to 74 should have a mammogram every two to three years. The panel now says the final decision on whether to be screened should fall to the patient as long as that patient understands the risks. The new guidelines also continue to recommend against breast cancer screening normal risk women using MRI, tomosynthesis or ultrasonography, based on a lack of evidence.
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