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Breast cancer survivor Wendy Louie gets mammograms regularly and encourages other women to do the same.

"I am a living example. I found the cancer in early stage, stage 1," Louie said.

A study from City Comptroller John Liu's office says public hospitals may not be meeting the city's own breast cancer screening standards. The city Health and Hospitals Corporation has a rule that the wait for a routine mammogram should be no longer than 14 days. But between 2008 and 2009 the average wait time for an appointment was 16. And some wait times were far longer.

Elmhurst Hospital in Queens had the longest waits of sometimes more than four months for routine screenings, and 50 days for critical follow-up, diagnostic mammograms where a lump or other symptom had already been detected.

"When a woman can't get a diagnostic mammogram, an urgent mammogram, within a couple of days, may have to wait up to 50 days, medically it is dangerous and emotionally it is taxing," Liu said.

Liu's office says HHC has agreed to the findings and has already been working to implement his office's recommendations.

However, that's not what HHC says. It calls the study outdated saying, "In their press statements (they) chose to ignore the more recent data made available to them which shows the significant improvements HHC has made over the last two years."

HHC contends, saying most patients now get mammograms well within its 14-day target. And, a previous report from the City Council calls an average of 18 days a reasonable amount of time to wait for routine mammograms. But Liu is still sticking to his latest report.

Women's health experts say they have concerns about any kind of wait because the earlier they detect a cancer or a possible problem, the better the outcome.