Dense Breasts

bdavis

I just saw on the news that in many states, doctors now need to tell their patients that they have dense breast tissue, thus making mammograms less effective. Finally.

Beesie

Yes, that is good news.  But hand-in-hand with that information, doctors need to explain the level of density, particularly relative to age (most pre-menopausal women have heterogeneously dense breasts) and what their particular level of density means with regard to screening and risk levels, and what the options are for additional screening.

Too many women come here having been told that they have "dense breasts" without understanding any more.  Many women have heard the scary statistics about women with dense breasts having "6 times the breast cancer risk" without having it explained.  That risk level is specific to post-menopausal women who have the highest level of density, as compared to those who have the lowest level of density (which is actually only a small percent of women).

I found this website recently and I really like how they explain things, providing the facts without generating fear:  Breast Density.info