Missing out on mammograms
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
Mammograms are the best screening tool available for a woman to find out if she has breast cancer. Mammograms are especially important because they can spot the cancer early, when the chances of successful treatment are better. But experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say rates of women getting mammograms have leveled off in recent years.
CDC's Dr. Jackie Miller says there may be several reasons. She says some women hadn't been able to get insurance or afford the copay if they had insurance. But she also says some women don't realize the importance of getting a mammogram:
"For instance, they would think that because they don't have a family history or because they've had previous mammograms that were normal, that they're not at any risk." (7 seconds)
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.