Why is it important to know if you have dense breasts

29 3 minutes read

Now in 28 states there are laws that require mammography centers to inform women with dense breast tissue that it may increase their risk of developing cancer and mask malignancy on mammograms, and urge them to speak with their doctors about additional imaging options.

Nearly half of women who have mammograms have dense breasts, which means their breasts have more glandular tissue that can turn into cancer. Because dense breast tissue and lumps, whether benign or cancerous, appear white on mammograms, the tests may not distinguish between normal and abnormal tissue and may be less accurate for women with dense breasts.

How common are thick breasts?

Breast density is more common in women who:

They are younger especially between the ages of 40 and 50, as breast tissue tends to lose its density with age
She is pre-menopausal
Take combination hormone therapy to relieve menopausal symptoms

Experts say these women should be informed of their condition so that they can take the necessary steps to protect their health in the future. “Women who have dense breasts are more likely to develop breast cancer,” says Dr. Dennis Citrine, a medical oncologist who treats breast cancer patients at The Hospital of Chicago. “It is important to know whether a woman has dense breasts to better understand the risk of breast cancer and the sensitivity of the mammogram.”

How do you know if your breasts are thick? With a mammogram. “You can’t detect it by touch,” says Dr. Citrine. When legally required, mammography providers inform women of breast density in a letter sent with the test results. A follow-up letter stating that the patient has dense breasts will assess the density based on a combination of four options:

Almost completely fat indicates that the breasts are made up almost entirely of fat. About 10 percent of women have this result.
Scattered areas of fibroadenoma mean that dense areas are detected around the breast, but most breast tissue is not dense. About 40 percent of women have this result.
Heterogeneously dense indicates that some areas of non-dense tissue were found, but most of the breast tissue is dense. About 40 percent of women have this result.
Dense indicates that most of the breast tissue is dense. About 10 percent of women have this result.

In general, women whose breasts are classified as unevenly dense or very dense are considered to have dense breasts. If you live in a state that doesn’t have high density breast laws, Dr. Citrine recommends that you ask your doctor for information.

What do you do if your breasts are thick?

What should women with thicker breasts do about it? “I say the same thing to all of my patients,” says Dr. Citrine. Make sure you get mammograms and check your breasts regularly. Get to know your breasts, especially if you’re perimenopause. If something is different, see your doctor immediately. Also, if a woman knows that her breasts are dense, and therefore there is a slight increased risk of breast cancer, she may want to consider alternative forms of imaging, such as an MRI.”

Some evidence suggests that additional tests can help detect breast cancer in denser breast tissue. Complementary breast cancer screening tests may include:

Digital breast synthesis : This test uses X-rays to take multiple pictures of the breast from different angles. The images are created by a computer to form a three-dimensional image of the breast.
Breast MRI : An MRI uses magnets to create images of the breast.
Breast ultrasound : Ultrasound uses sound waves to analyze tissue. Diagnostic ultrasound is commonly used to investigate areas of concern detected on mammograms.
Breast images with miraloma : It is a non-invasive nuclear medicine test that produces detailed images of malignant lesions in the dense, fibrous breast tissue.