Annual Mammograms Don't Save Lives

An expansive study conducted over 25 years and featuring roughly 90,000 Canadian women showed that annual mammogram screenings for women ages 40 to 59 don't reduce breast-cancer deaths, but do help uncover cases of breast cancer. “We found absolutely no benefit in terms of reduction of deaths from the use of mammography,” said study leader Dr. Anthony Miller. This study is the latest to question the value of annual breast X-rays, and adds to a debate that is already incredibly heated. The study, which was published in the British Medical Journal, argued that yearly mammography instead finds small cancers that would not be dangerous if left alone.