Should Mammograms Start at 40? With Chemo Nurse Gemma Reeves
About this episode
The episode discusses the push for earlier mammogram screenings at age 40, featuring insights from chemotherapy nurse Gemma Reeves on the rising incidence of breast cancer in younger women.
This week on Spill The Tea with WKC, we’re joined by chemotherapy nurse Gemma Reeves, who has witnessed first-hand the heart-breaking rise of breast cancer in younger women. Gemma recently launched a petition calling for routine mammograms in the UK to begin at age 40 instead of 50 a campaign focused on earlier detection and saving lives. In a major step forward, the petition has now passed 100,000 signatures, meaning it must be considered for parliamentary debate. Currently, the NHS Breast Screening Programme invites women aged 50 to 70 for a mammogram every three years. Those guidelines are based on evidence reviewed by the UK National Screening Committee, which assesses when screening provides more benefit than harm. But with diagnoses increasingly affecting younger women, Gemma and many others are asking whether the current system is still fit for purpose. Breast cancer isn’t just statistics it’s our friends and family. Jinty lost her best friend to breast cancer at 43 after both of us found lumps at the same time. Jinty’s was benign. Hers wasn’t. That’s why…
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