“It just might be the greatest cancer risk you’ve never heard of.”1
Five facts about dense breast tissue
1. 40% of women have dense breast tissue.
2. Breast density is one of the strongest predictors of the failure of mammography to detect cancer.
3. Mammography misses every other cancer in dense breasts.
4. Breast density is a well-established predictor of breast cancer risk.
5. High breast density is a greater risk factor than having two first degree relatives with breast cancer.
The vast majority of women are unaware of the density of their breasts.2
1. 95% of women do not know their breast density.
2. Less than one in 10 women learn about their dense breast tissue from their doctors.
Additional screening tests to mammography for women with dense breast tissue will increase detection by up to 100%. These invasive cancers, missed by mammography, are small, node negative and at an EARLY stage.
D.E.N.S.E.®
Are You Dense Advocacy Inc. State, Federal and Regulatory Efforts
Connecticut was the first state to enact Insurance Coverage Laws and a Breast Density Notification Law. Additionally, Texas, Virginia, New York, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Tennessee, Alabama, Nevada, Oregon, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Delaware, Louisiana, Indiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Vermont, Colorado, Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska, Washington, Utah, Florida, Wisconsin & Illinois have enacted breast density notification laws. Several states have pending bills. The Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act of 2017 was introduced in the 115th Congress on October 25, 2017.
"Universal density reporting will prevent later stage cancers and give ALL women access to an EARLY diagnosis – when most treatable and with better survival outcomes.” CT data show a statistically significant increase in the detection of small, early and invasive cancers invisible by mammogram.”
References: 1. Los Angeles Times, "Breast density linked to Cancer Risk," Karen Ravn, 6/21/10. 2. Harris Interactive National Survey, 5/2010.
