Recent Study Says Wyoming Women Have Highest Rate of Not Following Mammogram Recommendations

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer affects both women – along with men – and is one of the most common cancers.

A recent study analyzing survey data from the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) concluded that Wyoming had the highest rate of women, aged 50-74, who had not had a mammogram within two years.

The report found that in Wyoming, 34.2% of women aged 50-74 did not have a mammogram within two years -- or one in three women -- which is the highest rate in the country. The national average was 21.7%.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which is made up of doctors and disease experts and to whom the CDC defers, recommends mammograms every two years for women aged 50 to 74.

Wyoming was followed by Alaska at 34.2%, Utah at 28.8% and Idaho with 28.3%.

States that ranked the highest for following mammogram recommendations were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Hawaii.

According to the CDC, mammograms are the best way to find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat and before it is big enough to feel or cause symptoms. Having regular mammograms can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer.

Breast cancer was the second leading cancer-related cause of death between 2015 and 2019!, but when detected early, breast cancer has a five-year relative survival rate of 99%.

According to the American Cancer Society there are about 450 new breast cancer cases in Wyoming every year.