It puzzled me that I was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer for which I had no genetics or known risk factors at that time. In addition, three mammograms missed my breast cancer. Ironically, in the past few years, three cancer entities, The American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health, and Breastcancer.org have all added “Dense Breasts” as a risk factor for breast cancers.
This is significant because I have dense breasts. And today we’re going to look at what these three well-known breast cancer entities have to say about dense breasts.
- Let’s look at what the American Cancer Society has to say about having dense breast tissue:
Breasts are made up of fatty tissue, fibrous tissue, and glandular tissue. Breasts appear denser on a mammogram when they have more glandular and fibrous tissue and less fatty tissue. Women with dense breasts on a mammogram have a risk of breast cancer that is about 1 1/2 to 2 times that of women with average breast density. Unfortunately, dense breast tissue can also make it harder to see cancers on mammograms. Dense tissue appears whitish and so do cancer tumors so white on white is hard to see.
A number of factors can affect breast density, such as age, menopausal status, the use of certain drugs (including menopausal hormone therapy), pregnancy, and genetics.
2. Here’s information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding dense breasts:
Breasts contain glandular, connective, and fat tissue. Breast density is a term that describes the relative amount of these different types of breast tissue as seen on a mammogram. Dense breasts have relatively high amounts of glandular tissue and fibrous connective tissue and relatively low amounts of fatty breast tissue. Which matches with what the ACS says.
How do I know if I have dense breasts?
According to the NIH, only a mammogram can show if a woman has dense breasts. Dense breast tissue cannot be felt in a clinical breast exam or in a breast self-exam. For this reason, dense breasts are sometimes referred to as mammographically dense breasts.
So you might ask, how common are dense breasts?
According to the NIH, Nearly half of all women age 40 and older who get mammograms are found to have dense breasts. Breast density is often inherited, but other factors can influence it. Factors associated with lower breast density include increasing age, having children, using tamoxifen, using postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy, and having a low body mass index.
The NIH also gives us the categories of breast density:
Doctors use the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System, called BI-RADS, to group different types of breast density. This system, developed by the American College of Radiology helps doctors to interpret and report back mammogram findings. Doctors who review mammograms are called radiologists. BI-RADS classifies breast density into four categories from less dense to more dense, as follows:
- (A) Almost entirely fatty breast tissue, found in about 10% of women
- (B) Scattered areas of dense glandular tissue and fibrous connective tissue (scattered fibroglandular breast tissue) found in about 40% of women
And as we just learned from the ACS, 50 percent of all women are in these last two categories:
- (C) Heterogeneously dense breast tissue with many areas of glandular tissue and fibrous connective tissue, found in about 40% of women
- (D) Extremely dense breast tissue, found in about 10% of women
If you are told that you have dense breasts, it means that you have either “heterogeneously dense” (C) or “extremely dense” (D) breasts.
Only a radiologist can tell you this information and many states are now requiring radiologists to inform their patients if they have dense breasts. I also think it’s best to find out exactly which category you are. So next time you get a mammogram, be proactive and ask for this information.
- And finally let’s look at information from Breastcancer.org
Research has shown that dense breasts can be twice as likely to develop cancer as nondense breasts and can make it harder for mammograms to detect breast cancer. According to breastcancer.org, knowing whether you have dense breasts is important because:
- Dense breasts make it harder for doctors to see breast cancers on mammograms. This increases the risk that cancers will be missed.
- Women with dense breasts have a higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to women who don’t have dense breasts.The greater the amount of dense tissue, the higher the risk. However, you don’t necessarily have a high risk of breast cancer just because you have dense breasts. Breast density has to be considered along with other risk factors, such as age, family history, and any history of breast biopsies showing atypical cells or other changes that increase cancer risk.
Breast density is one piece of the puzzle in thinking about your breast health and breast cancer screening plan. Three is a charm. Next time you get your mammogram, ask your radiologist if you have “dense breasts.” If you do, monthly self-examinations will be of utmost importance. You should demand the newer 3-D mammogram if not offered, and occasionally doing an MRI, thermogram, or ultrasound is a good idea.
Did you know that dense breasts are now considered a risk for breast cancer?
View this message on YouTube:
A New Risk Factor for Breast Cancer You Must Know
For Your Health,
Ginny
Ginny Dent Brant is a speaker and writer who grew up in the halls of power in Washington, DC. She has battled cancer, ministered around the world, and served on the front lines of American culture as a counselor, educator, wellness advocate, and adjunct professor. Brant’s award-winning book, Finding True Freedom: From the White House to the World, was endorsed by Chuck Colson and featured in many TV and media interviews. Unleash Your God-Given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer was released in May 2020 after her journey with cancer and was recently awarded the First Place Golden Scrolls Award for Memoirs, a finalist in Serious Writers Book of the Decade, and Second Place in both Selah Awards for Memoirs and Director’s Choice Award for Nonfiction at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. It recently received the Christian Authors Network’s (CAN) Gold Award for Excellence in Marketing for reaching 62.5 million people with a message of cancer prevention and survival. It was written with commentary from an oncologist and was featured on CBN’s Healthy Living Show, Atlanta Live, and CTN’s Homekeepers along with over 75 media outlets. Learn more and cancer and wellness prevention blog and book information at www.ginnybrant.com. Ginny is on YouTube
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