CDN women...when did you start getting screened?

rozem, this varies province by province, where are you living?

I was part of the clinical trials in the mid 80's that compared using screening mammography (along with manual doctor's exam) to doctor's examination alone. I was 40 so was in the age 40 -49 group, and yes the finding, to great surprise btw, did show that though the mammogram did find cancers earlier, in this age group it didn't make any difference to survival. Despite this result the screening mammogram program as set up in British Columbia in 1988 did allow women between ages 40 to 49 could get mammograms, I think it was because it was considered cheaper to treat cancers found earlybut more likely it was a political decision.

 Anyway looking at today's requirements in British Columbia women between age 40 and 79 can still make an appointment without their doctor's say so to have a mammogram the only requirement is that they do need to have a doctor to receive the results.

Women under age 40 or over age 79 can be screened to but need a doctor's referral.

http://www.smpbc.ca/faq/Eligibility.htm

My cancer was found during a routine screening mammogram at age 65.

Kathy

My GP suggested a baseline at age 39 which I ignored at the time. I did mammos at age 45, 47, 49, 50, 51 - 8 months after that one I noticed a lump. Follow-up mammo showed nothing definitive (even though there were 2 lumps, 2.5 and 1.5 cm)... so I don't put huge stock in mammos at any age. For every mammo that may have made a difference for you - or not made a difference for me - there are hundreds and thousands of other women whose results, collectively, make up the data on which our system relies to make evidence-based decisions. And right now, that data shows that mammos under age 50 don't do much good. They are particularly bad at seeing through dense breast tissue (which younger women have), hence the recent guidelines (in Ontario) for young women at signiifcant risk to have MRIs. 

Age 40, every year. Was to be seen in March 21, 2009 for my annual at our community's breast screening clinic. I found a lump in January 2009, mulled it over for a while, because in 2006 I had a cyst that felt the same. It was drained as I watched. Cool. I called my family doctor in late February and was seen the next day, sent for mammogram March 3, 2009. Biopsy under USS same appointment. I was 57. My mom and grandmother had breast cancer and I have dense breasts. I was Stage IV.

Going every year made no difference.

I'm in Ontario. I started at 24 with yearly MRI and ultrasound every 6 months. Genetic councellors working at the hospital are the ones who started me on that, stating that guidelines do not apply to women with high risk.

I personally think to start at 50 is outrageous. Most of women in my family were diagnosed before 35. 

During physicals my doctor mentioned I would start being screened at 40 (no family history or anything). I never made it that far...was diagnosed when I was 30. He did do thorough breast exams at every physical but never felt anything out of the ordinary. ThisTooShal makes a very good point. 50 is ridiculous....I think in this day and time, a lot of women are going to be diagnosed at a much younger age. I know soooo many women who were diagnosed before 35. All cancers really....the waiting room seems to be packed with younger people. I can hardly believe my eyes sometimes. It's heartbreaking. The other thing that blows my mind, when I was diagnosed in 1996, there were 5 chairs and two beds in the chemo room and the pediatric chemo room was the size of a bedroom. Now there are 30 chairs, 10 beds, and the pediatric chemo room is huge. Very depressing.