Breast Cancer Doesn’t Wait Until 40: Lower the Mammogram Screening Age to 35

Hi - I’m Emily, and I’ve spent the last decade working in breast imaging. Every day, I see the importance of early detection—and I believe it’s time we ask an important question:

Why are we waiting until 40?

Current guidelines generally recommend routine screening mammography beginning at age 40 for women at average risk. But breast cancer doesn’t suddenly begin on a woman’s 40th birthday.

We are seeing increasing concern about breast cancer in younger women, and screening recommendations have changed before as new evidence has emerged. It’s time to investigate whether they should change again.

I am calling for a formal reevaluation of lowering the routine mammography screening age from 40 to 35.

This does not mean current evidence has already established 35 as the appropriate age for universal screening. It means women in their 30s deserve research, access, and a serious conversation about whether waiting until 40 remains the best approach.

I am asking healthcare organizations, researchers, policymakers, and insurers to:

• Evaluate the benefits and potential harms of beginning routine mammography at 35 instead of 40.
• Expand access and insurance coverage for screening mammography beginning at 35 when appropriate.
• Encourage breast cancer risk assessment by age 25, helping identify women who may need screening even earlier.
  Increase research and education surrounding breast cancer in women under 40.
• A woman shouldn’t have to find a lump before breast imaging becomes accessible to her. She shouldn’t have to wait for symptoms simply because she hasn’t reached an arbitrary birthday.

We have moved screening recommendations before when the evidence told us to.

It’s time to ask whether 35 should be the new starting line.

If you believe we should reevaluate when breast cancer screening begins, please sign and share this petition.

Breast cancer doesn’t wait until 40. Why should screening?