Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Dr. Kim Mulvihill Reporting For women over 40, a routine mammogram is considered the best way to detect breast cancer. The earlier the cancer is found, the more likely a woman will survive it. But some survivors have stopped getting screened.
When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, treatment may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy. After treatment, there's a risk the cancer can come back. Unfortunately, new findings suggest not all breast cancer survivors are diligent about getting screened. In fact, many women who survive breast cancer gradually stop getting mammograms.
In the first year after treatment, about 80 percent of patients got mammograms. However, five years later that number dropped to just 63 percent.
The result is surprising because you would think breast cancer survivors would know why getting a mammogram is so important. But doctors speculate some women may be reluctant to get a mammogram, in the hope that no news is good news.
Some experts believe women who've been through the disease don't want to think about going through it again. However, Radiologist, Dr. Katie Puglia, says it's all the more important for these women to be screened.
Dr. Katie Puglia, Huntsman Cancer Institute: "I think it's extremely important for this group of women, especially since they are at higher risk for breast cancer in the first place. Fear may be a factor, but I would encourage these women to come back and get screened. We are picking things up much earlier with better and better techniques."
