Breast cancer screening: Where have we been and where are we going? A personal perspective based on history, data and experience.

It is important to understand the history of breast cancer screening to better understand the continuing effort to reduce access to screening. Since the randomized, controlled trials have shown a statistically significant mortality reduction for women ages 40-74, the appropriate threshold for initiating screening is age 40 with no data to support the use of the age of 50 as a threshold for screening. All women are at risk for developing breast cancer and all women should have access to screening.