For Those with Dense Breast Tissue

I'm 50 years old and I have dense breast and I went for a mammogram last Thursday and it came back abnormal. They called me back in yesterday and they done several different x-rays and ultrasound. Found something on the right breast to me it was a white spot with little lines around it. But they told me they was going to let someone else look at my x-rays, they said they didn't thinkkkkk it was nothing to worry about and said I probably should wait and come back in 6 months. My mom has had breast cancer 5 years ago. Do you think I should demand a mri? I'm a little scared thinking about this since my mom has had breast cancer. Can you give me some advise?

Thanks,

Hi Twona: Yes, I owuld ask for an MRI. If they don't do it, I would get a second opinion, if you can afford to pay yourself (if insurance doesn't cover it). Good luck!

I went for a second opinion, and the doctor said absolutely,I should be having MRI.  She also said it is going to be an ongoing battle for insurance.  They don't reimburse enough for the reading time on the MRI, which is up to two hours according to my oncologist.  That is much more than the standard mammogram/ultrasound.  It's a double-whammy:  the insurance companies don't want to pay, the hospitals don't want to offer them.

I fought like a devil, and my oncologist said it was going to be an annual war.  This won't change for a while, so get your gloves on, ladies.  Another one I'm hearing a lot about:  they'll give an MRI at the beginning, and then by the second and third year out, they won't offer/cover them.  

I'm like many of you:  the mammography was literally a collosal waste of time.

The insurance story is typical - and  why some of us are working to get our state legislatures to change the law and require insurance to cover MRIs for woman with dense breast tissue.

Regarding dense breasts-Has anyone ever had a Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI).  I came across this article on how they have perfected it by reducing the radiation dose.  I have an appt with my breast surgeon in two weeks and having very dense breasts and history of ADH with excisional biopsies, I thought I might ask to be referred to an Imaging Center that offers it.  I googled the one mentioned in the article and it said many insurances cover BSGI and they have been doing them for years.  Any comments, concerns, thoughts! 

Latest Clinical Evidence Supports Promising Outlook for Low-Dose Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI)

PRNewswire

05-13-11

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The possibility of low-dose Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) looks promising according to the most recent clinical evidence revealed this past month at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Marcela Bohm-Velez and her colleagues from Associates in Pittsburgh, Pa., shared preliminary results from a prospective study on low-dose MBI, specifically Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI), at the SNM Breast Cancer Imaging: State of the Art 2011. Their results suggest it may be possible to reduce the radiation dose patients receive from a BSGI procedure by up to 60 percent.

The tracer used in this procedure, Technetium Tc99m Sestamibi (MIBI), has commonly been used in cardiac studies for years and was cleared by the FDA in the mid-1990s for diagnostic breast imaging. The recommended dose (20 - 30 mCi) was established using an older, larger, less sensitive whole body imaging system. Newer breast-optimized imaging systems have an inherently higher photon sensitivity that may allow a lesser dose to be used.

At the Weinstein Imaging Center, BSGI has become a valuable diagnostic tool, especially for patients with dense breast tissue that limits the effectiveness of mammography. "In order to optimize care and use BSGI to screen specific populations, we wanted to examine the possibility of using a lesser dose," said Bohm-Velez. "The present challenge for the clinician is that the use of lower doses is currently an off-label use of the pharmaceutical."

Their study compared breast tissue uptake at low-dose levels of 5, 10 and 15 mCi to those obtained with the conventional 20 mCi (740 MBq) injections. According to Bohm-Velez, "Although these are early results, we were quite surprised to see that we can reduce the dose to 15 mCi without any substantial impact on breast tissue uptake or image quality. In addition, a 10 mCi image still provided a very good, clinically viable image. The good news is that at lower doses, the breast tissue uptake is still sufficient; leading us to believe that a dose of 8 mCi is likely possible with the current instrumentation."

Bohm-Velez also mentioned current investigations are underway at the University of Virginia to potentially allow doses as low as 2 - 4 mCi to be used, making the radiation dose a patient receives from a BSGI/MBI study equivalent to that from a mammogram. According to Bohm-Velez, "The next steps are to gain the funding needed to expand this to a multicenter trial, investigate the impact of these optimizations and hopefully, in the end, change the drug insert package to include low-dose breast imaging."

About Dilon Diagnostics

Dilon Diagnostics, a brand of Dilon Technologies Inc., is bringing innovative new medical imaging products to market. Dilon's cornerstone product, the Dilon 6800(R), is a high-resolution, small field-of-view digital gamma camera, which provides the high photon sensitivity needed for low dose BSGI/MBI studies. The examination images the metabolic activity of breast lesions through radiotracer uptake and the Dilon GammaLoc Localization device allows Gamma Guided biopsy to be conducted. Many leading medical centers around the country are now offering BSGI to their patients, including: Cornell University Medical Center, New York; George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; and The Rose, Houston. For more information on Dilon Diagnostics please visit www.dilon.com

hi nashville thx for ur post...i agree with it...i think every women should know proper information about breast cancer...i read so many articles about it n recently i found a interesting one..if u have tym u can check this http://www.livewithyourself.com/ i think it will help u to know more about breat cancer...:)

Hi Ladies,

I posted here in Feb. 2011 about my dense breast tissue and could not get the proper imaging studies through my insurance. I had a mammogram in Sept. 2010, came back the same as all others. No malignancy, heterogenously dense tissue-both breasts, hard to read with mammography. I requested to see the breast surgeon due to a lump I felt...she ordered a partial U/S, from 12:00 to 3:00 position. I was surprised, I thought she would do a complete U/S; when I met with her she said I didn't need one...everythng is normal. I called member services and asked if I could get a full U/S and was turned down. I was sent to another breast surgeon at another facility only to be Abused by the Breast Surgeon. We bickered back and forth and she requested I do not return to her clinic. It has taken me this long to get an U/S, I paid out of pocket at a community clinic which takes walk-ins and explained my circumstances. I got my order for a bilateral U/S which I will pay for myself. My feelings are, money well spent for peace of mind or early detection.

To all of you going through the same, seems this is what we must resort to in order to get quality healthcare.

Take care,

Maggie

Hi Springtime,

I'm so sorry you're going through this. If I may ask, how are you doing at this time?

I feel the screening process needs to be changed, unfortunately this won't happen until someone with great pull fights for changes. If women cannot be read with mammogram due to density then this needs to change. It's a waste of time year after year to get a mammogram with the same results. The insurance companies should be more forth coming regarding diagnositic imaging.

Yes I agree there are changes going on at this time. I'm hoping for the changes that took place in CT to take place all over the U.S.

Take care,

Maggie

Bdavis, I agree.   Mammos have certainly saved lives.   But I don't think they have saved many lives in women with grades 3-4 breast density, and we should be allowed to have access to more definitive tests.  

Joanne,  What Joycek said: GET AN MRI!! Sorry, I would NOT trust mammograms or ultrasound if you have dense tissue. At the very least, get an appointment with the best breast surgeon in your area and get a second opinion. Maybe they will want to do an MRI or biopsy. Good luck to you. It is likely nothing, but don't you want to know for sure? 

Pinkrose - Wow! God Bless your Mom!! Yep, I think there is a lot we can do to help create a non -condusive environment in our bodies for Cancer. I read "Anti-Cancer, A New Way of Life" to start and then just took it from there. I also see an Osteopath for help with the supplements and other homeopathic stuff.  

I am three years out from diagnosis and my last onc appointment in January they told me I have dense breasts - what have two oncs in two different countries been doing - no one thought to tell me that sooner - I was lucky that I had an MRI and this time around a US - frankly it outta be a law no mamos for dense breasts - this is the kind of stuff Komen with all it's pink money should be working on.

Thank you so much for your replies!  I'm going to push the doctor to send me for an MRI opposed to Mammograms and Ultrasound from this point forward.  

Thanks!

Joanne