Mammogram follow-up 'can wait for a year'
Women with breast cancer who opt to be treated with breast-conserving therapy and radiation should have a mammogram 12 months after their treatment, scientists have said.
A study published in the International Journal of Radiation-Oncology-Biology-Physics suggested this time frame was optimum for a follow-up examination.
This goes in the face of recommendations from the current American Society of Clinical Oncology and National Comprehensive Cancer Network, it noted - which indicate a check-up should be conducted at between six months and a year.
Those with Well Woman cancer insurance may be aware a treatment involving a lumpectomy and radiation therapy yields similar survival outcomes to a mastectomy.
Lead author Kevin Lin, radiation oncologist at the Advanced Oncology Centre in West Covina, California, said: "Omitting the initial post-radiotherapy examination may improve the psychological well-being of patients, especially for women who have already been shown to have breast cancer."
Earlier this year, research published in the same journal indicated lumpectomy and radiation therapy continue to be effective in older women who develop breast cancer. 
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