Preventive Care & Screening, By the Numbers
Screening guidelines change more often than most people realize, and “what your mom did” isn't necessarily what's currently recommended. Here's the current picture.
Last updated August 2026
Cervical cancer screening (Pap/HPV)
Current guidance: start at 21, pap alone every 3 years through 29. From 30–65, either pap+HPV co-testing every 5 years or pap alone every 3 years. Most people can stop around 65 if prior screening has been consistently normal. “Every year” is outdated for most people now — worth confirming your provider's schedule matches current guidance.
Breast cancer screening (mammography)
Guidance varies slightly by organization — ACOG and USPSTF don't fully align — generally starting somewhere between 40–50 and continuing every 1–2 years. Worth clarifying which schedule your provider is following and why, especially if a family history changes your personal starting point.
Bone density (DEXA)
Routine screening typically starts at 65, or earlier if you have risk factors — early menopause, long-term steroid use, family history, or low body weight. This is one that's easy to miss, since it rarely comes up unless you specifically ask.
Other cancer & health screening
Colon cancer screening now starts at 45, moved down from 50. Skin checks matter if you have risk factors. Smoking status should be asked — and addressed — at every visit; cessation support (medication, counseling) is genuinely effective and worth asking for directly rather than assuming you have to quit unassisted.
Vaccinations
The HPV vaccine is recommended, and effective, even into your 20s and beyond the original age windows if you weren't vaccinated earlier. Tdap, annual flu, current COVID guidance, and the shingles vaccine starting at 50 round out adult preventive care that tends to get less attention than it should.
Worth discussing with your provider
Educational information only — general patterns that vary by person. This is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a substitute for care from your own clinician.
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