Nearly half of women age 40 to 74 have dense breasts. If you fall into that category, you have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. It can also make your mammograms more difficult to read because the dense tissue can hide the signs of breast cancer.
How do I know if I have dense breasts?
Since 2016, South Carolina law has required that women be notified if they have dense breasts. If you've had a mammogram at the Beaufort Memorial Breast Health Center that revealed you have dense breasts, we sent you a letter and notified your physician so that you can discuss the potential need for closer monitoring.
What does “dense breasts” mean?
Women’s breasts are made up of glandular, connective and fatty tissue. High breast density means there is a greater amount of glandular and connective tissue than fat. Breast density can only be seen in mammograms. It isn’t something that can be felt and is not related to breast size or firmness.
Read More: Targeting Hidden Tumors in Dense Breasts
When a radiologist reads your mammograms, s/he will classify the density of your breasts in one of four categories. A breast density score of "1" means your breasts are mostly fat (not dense), and score of "4" means they are extremely dense.
What screenings do I need if I have dense breasts?
Since dense breasts make it more difficult for radiologists to detect cancer tumors using conventional mammograms, we recommend that women with dense breasts have 3D mammograms and, potentially, an automated breast ultrasound (ABUS).
3D mammogram images are extremely clear and show much finer detail than the older 2D technology. They've been clinically proven to increase cancer detection and decrease false positives without exposing a woman to any more radiation than a standard mammogram, which is well below the safe level set by the FDA.
ABUS screening ultrasounds are used in combination with a mammogram to help doctors and radiologists better identify breast tumors in women with dense breasts. The image produced by ABUS makes tumors easier to differentiate from dense breast tissue. The combination has been found to increase cancer detection by 36% in these women.
Essentially, the combination means less worry.
Read More: Breast Cancer Screening for Women with Dense Breasts
“Our screenings provide a clearer view of the breast,” says Dr. Tara Grahovac, a board-certified, fellowship-trained breast surgical oncologist who specializes in the surgical management of breast disease at Beaufort Memorial. “This improves breast cancer detection and reduces the number of false positives that lead to unnecessary biopsies.”
If you have breast cancer risk factors, such as dense breasts or a family history of the disease, we encourage you to discuss this with your primary care or women’s health provider. You can schedule your mammogram any time, but an ABUS will require a provider’s referral.
Schedule your mammogram today by calling 843-522-5015 or request an appointment online.
