No questions came in this month, so I thought I would give you an update on some recently published research that gives women another reason to get regular mammograms.

On July 9 a study was published online in the Annals of Surgical Oncology. It demonstrated that if a woman got regular mammograms and, unfortunately, did develop breast cancer, the treatment for that woman was markedly less extensive and less radical than for those women in the study group who did not get regular mammograms, and even worse yet, for women who did not get any mammograms at all.

The study looked at women age 40 and over, but in particular addressed the controversy of women in the age range of 40-49 years of age. It found these women also had the benefit of early detection and less radical treatment, if they developed breast cancer.

Yet another reason to begin getting yearly mammograms at the age of 40, and tell your girlfriends to do the same.

Join us again next month. In the meantime, if you have questions, feel free to e-mail me: michael.ulissey@cdirad.com; And remember: friends don’t let friends skip mammograms.

Michael J. Ulissey, M.D., is a partner at the Breast Diagnostic Centers of Auburn and Federal Way. In addition to taking care of patients locally, he continues to participate in research as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center.