Image Reference: Doubtful pensive young woman with sticker note on forehead with question mark.

• How to decide whether someone should start getting mammograms regularly? 

When considering whether or not someone should be getting mammograms regularly depends mainly on two factors (National Cancer Institute, 2025), age and sex. The next two sections will address how those two factors (age and biological sex) may influence people's needs to get mammograms and when people from those groups should get them.

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• Age & Increased Risk of Cancer:

Many factors come into consideration. Some of them are sex, race, ethnicity, gender identity, genetics, and age. According to the National Cancer Institute (NIH), age is the most critical risk factor when it comes to susceptibility to developing cancer and can explain the discrepancy between cases of cancer in people who are younger than twenty years old versus people who are sixty years old or older. In the article, the NIH states that only about twenty-five per 100,000 people who are twenty or younger are diagnosed with cancer, while, on the other hand, roughly 1,000 out of 100,000 sixty-five years old are diagnosed with cancer. 

Keeping that in mind, as people age, they should be aware of the increased likelihood of them being diagnosed with cancer, in this case, breast cancer. People who are part of this at-risk group should schedule regular yearly mammogram examinations to prevent breast diseases and treat them while they are at their beginning stages. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Early diagnosis of cancer focuses on detecting symptomatic patients as early as possible, so they have the best chance for successful treatment (...) Early diagnosis improves cancer outcomes by providing care at the earliest possible stage.” Knowing the importance of early diagnosis in order to have the best outcomes at treating cancer at its early stages and, therefore, increasing people’s survival chances, reemphasizes the importance of regular examination starting at the age recommended by their primary care doctor.

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• Sex

According to Breastcancer.org, though both people assigned female or male at birth should participate in the examination, mammograms are mainly encouraged for cisgender women, transgender men, and non-binary people who have breast tissue because they are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer (Uscher, 2025). For that reason, doctors generally recommend people meet with their primary care doctor or gynecologist to conduct a risk assessment with their patient to determine how susceptible they are to developing breast cancer, and they should start that process, preferably, at the age of twenty-five years old (Uscher, 2025).

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• People Assigned Female at Birth:

While people assigned female at birth are at a much higher risk of developing breast diseases than people who are assigned male at birth (Uscher, 2025), but when is the right time for AFAB (assigned female at birth) people to start their yearly mammogram examination journey? As mentioned previously, it depends on what group they are part of after their primary care doctor or gynecologist conducts a risk assessment on them and establishes if they are either a “person at a higher-than-average risk” or a “person at an average risk” (Uscher, 2025). In case they are a person assigned female at birth who is at an average risk for breast disease, it is recommended that they get a mammogram every year after they turn forty as a preventive measure (Uscher, 2025). On the other hand, an AFAB person who is at a higher risk than the average person should start having mammograms as soon as they turn thirty years old (Uscher, 2025) to ensure that the presence of breast diseases is nonexistent or, in case they are present, discovered at an early enough stage that makes treatment more tangible and increases the likelihood of recovery from such condition (Risk factors: Age).

Image Reference: Men

• People Assigned Male At Birth: 

While very rare when compared to people who are assigned female at birth, people who are assigned male at birth may also develop breast diseases (Uscher, 2025). Males, like females, are also split into the “person at a higher-than-average risk” or a “person at an average risk” category. According to Breastcancer.org, for males, those categories are predetermined due to “an inherent mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, a strong family history of breast cancer, or other risk factors”, which puts them in a position where mammograms might be beneficial to them (Uscher, 2025). In case people who are AMAB (assigned male at birth) fit these classifications, it is recommended that they start getting mammograms either at age 50 or 10 years before the earliest known male breast cancer diagnosis in the family (Uscher, 2025).