Check It, Don’t Wreck It: The Mammogram Manifesto

Trudy Giordano
Oct 29
2 min read

by Trudy Giordano

Boob Facts & Pink Myths: The Cult of Early Detection

Let’s get one thing straight: getting your boobs checked isn’t “basic wellness.” It’s a rebellion.

In a world that loves to tell women to “self-care” with candles and collagen, the real act of resistance might just be scheduling your mammogram.

Here’s why — and the numbers don’t lie.

When breast cancer is caught early, at a localized stage, the five-year survival rate is 99%. (National Breast Cancer Foundation)

Once it spreads, that number nosedives to 27%. So yeah, that quick scan? It’s practically armor.

Age Is More Than a Number

Your risk climbs as birthdays pile up:

At 40, it’s about 1 in 65.
At 50, 1 in 42.
By 70, 1 in 24.
(Breast Cancer Research Foundation)

Translation: the “I’ll do it later” crowd is playing roulette with bad odds.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now says to start mammograms at 40 and repeat every two years. (USPSTF)

That’s not paranoia — that’s prevention.

The Race Gap They Don’t Print on the Pink Ribbons

Here’s the plot twist nobody likes to talk about:

Black women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women — even though they’re not the group most likely to get it. (American Cancer Society)

They’re also more likely to be diagnosed younger, later, and with more aggressive subtypes like triple-negative breast cancer — 25.2 cases per 100,000 versus 12.9 in white women. (JAMA Oncology)

Translation: inequity is the real killer.

Join the Cult of the Checked

So yeah, go ahead — light your candle, drink your green juice.

But then, book your mammogram.

Because self-care without early detection is just a scented distraction.

The initiation ritual? Just one scan.

Your future self will thank you.

Tag someone or drop a comment right now: tell us when you’re booking your mammogram.

No excuses. No lurking. We want to see who’s actually in the cult.

This article is in memory of and dedicated to my mom, Jeannette and all those we’ve lost to breast cancer, and to everyone fighting it today.

Image Credits:Kling AI