If rates of breast cancer are steadily rising in younger women, why are most doctors still hesitant to carry out mammograms on younger women (20s-30s)

[Nonoanddefintelyno]

I would say this has pretty much become an all consuming obsession for me. I know it sounds negative but I always feel like when one family member gets seriously ill with cancer, a few months down the line it ends up repeating itself for another family member. I also feel like I dont honestly know how to access support for my anxiety because of how I evidently dont cope with it because all i have to do is look down at my arms and the evidence is all there. And I have heard from a couple of people i know at groups I go to, that often the NHS or even private therapists aren't willing to work with clients who are actively harming themselves

I had a problem with pain in my breast when I was late 20s. I was told at that age my breast tissue is too dense for a mammogram, so had a scan instead.

because their breast tissue is denser, meaning images are harder to analyse, so it’s less effective to screen younger women in this way.

I was called for my first mammogram at 50 and had the week from hell when I got a letter asking me to go back for further tests.

It was all clear, but that was because my tissue was too tense. At 50. After breastfeeding 3 kids for a combined total of about 4 years.

You need to seek support for your anxiety @Nonoanddefintelyno rather than fixating on why mammograms aren't offered.

Rates are also increasing due to better awareness.

Screening has its pros as well as cons, it won’t magically take your worries away, in fact in could make your anxiety far worse than it is now.

They just are not effective at finding cancer in younger breasts due to the increased glandular tissue present. Glandular tissue shows up as white on a mammogram, cancer shows up as white on a mammogram. It's looking for a snowball in a snowstorm: next to impossible. So the test is not valid on younger breasts, and less effective on older but pre-menopausal breasts. It's physics and it's not able to be changed, sorry.

Because it’s not likely to show up. I’ve had breast cancer twice and neither time did the cancer show on mammogram, even though the tumours were several centimetres big. That was partly because I have(had) dense breasts.

What do you mean about your arms op, have you been self harming? Your post is worrying, please get some help IRL. Do you have any family members you can confide in?

Before having any x-ray including mammograms the doctors requesting it have to weigh up the risks and benefit to the patient. As people have pointed out, younger breasts are more dense and therefore abnormalities may be less likely to show up. MRI or ultrasound can be used, but still only if there is good reason. There are different pathways for those who have a family history of breast cancer or relevant genetic concerns. I think it’s normal to be anxious when you have other members of the family with cancer OP but having tests without good reason won’t always help. Can you talk to your GP rather than relying on other people’s opinions on what help may be available?

Breast cancer gets more common as you age, therefore it makes sense to screen older women. Screening younger women would be a waste of time and resources in the vast majority of cases as there would be very few positive results.

Breast cancer gets more common as you age, therefore it makes sense to screen older women. Screening younger women would be a waste of time and resources in the vast majority of cases as there would be very few positive results.

Breast cancer gets more common as you age, therefore it makes sense to screen older women. Screening younger women would be a waste of time and resources in the vast majority of cases as there would be very few positive results.

Sorry I posted three times accidentally!

Sorry I posted three times accidentally!

Sorry I posted three times accidentally!