WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- A slight drop in the number of mammograms nationwide means more women may fail to detect breast cancer at an early stage, U.S. health officials said.
There has been a decline in the number of women having annual mammograms in nearly every state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Reasons for avoiding mammograms may include inconvenience, cost and fear of pain, The Washington Post said Tuesday.
The CDC study found results similar to a 2007 National Institutes of Health study which said the percentage of women 40 and older having yearly mammograms increased between 1987 and 2000, leveled off for three years and then declined.
"The 2010 target for all women, 70 percent, was met in 2000, but the proportion fell to 66 percent in 2005," said Stephen Taplin, a scientist at the National Cancer Institute.
Early breast cancer detection means the disease often can be treated before it spreads and increases the risk of death, said Katherine Alley, who heads the breast health program at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md.
