Yesterday, it was all over the news that healthcare providers will soon be required to notify women whether or not they have dense breast tissue when they perform a mammogram. Why is this important?
First let’s talk about breast tissue in general. Overall, there are three different types of breast tissue:
- Glandular. This is the tissue and ducts responsible for producing milk.
- Connective. This is fibrous tissue that keeps ducts and glands in place.
- Fatty. Yes – we carry fat in our breasts.
If you have a lot of glandular and connective tissue and not a lot of fatty tissue, you are considered to have dense breast tissue. But the tricky thing is that no matter what you weigh or what cup size you are, only a mammogram can determine just how dense your breast tissue is.
About half of all childbearing age women have dense breast tissue – but it changes over time. As you age, your breast tissue generally gets less dense due to estrogen levels falling off. So again – the question is – why do you need to know if you have dense breast tissue?
The two big reasons you need to know about your breast tissue are that high density has been linked to increased chances for breast cancer and the density can make finding breast cancer early harder because cancer and the fibers in your breast both show white on a mammogram.
My mom died of cancer that started as breast cancer so statistically, I’m at a higher risk of getting breast cancer. As a result, I’ve always been very good about getting my screenings regularly. Before I went through menopause, my breast tissue was very dense and the routine for me went something like this: go get a mammogram, get a call from my doctor telling me that the mammogram was inconclusive and they’d like me to come in for an ultrasound, go in for the ultrasound, results were negative for breast cancer. I always wanted to cut to the chase and just get the ultrasound, but that’s not protocol!
Because of my mother’s history and the fact that a lot of my family is in the healthcare profession, I knew to ask questions and find out about the implications around the density of my tissue. I’ve also been blessed with having really good OBGYNs over the course of my life who have taken the time to educate me. I’m REALLY glad that more women will be getting this kind of information so they can make the best choices for their health.
Want to learn more? Check out these links:
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/mammogram/in-depth/dense-breast-tissue/art-20123968
- https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/screening-tests-and-early-detection/mammograms/breast-density-and-your-mammogram-report.html
- https://www.bcrf.org/blog/dense-breast-tissue-what-it-means-and-what-to-know/
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21169-dense-breast-tissue
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