How often should I have a mammogram?
With regards to breast cancer diagnosis, women should have a mammogram yearly, starting at the age of 50 (according to some guidelines) and 40 (according to other guidelines). The studies have definitively shown an improvement of overall survival for women who develop breast cancer when they get mammograms starting yearly at the age of 50. The studies looking at women at the age of 40 have not definitively shown this, but there's enough circumstantial evidence that a large number of the consensus groups recommend starting mammograms yearly at the age of 40.