Dense Breast Tissue: Unnoticed Dangers

Many women leave it unnoticed but studies have revealed that women who have dense breast tissue have a higher chance of getting breast cancer than women with fatty tissues. Dense breast tissue makes it very hard to identify tumors on a mammogram. Dense breast tissue hides the tumor as it looks light while fatty tissues look dark on the mammogram. Hence the dense breast tissue appears to be a major risk factor for those women who carry the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 and for older women. But sadly the issue of dense breast tissue as an issue of risk is hardly ever discussed between the doctor and the women.

Dense breast tissue is formed because of more duct lining and milk gland than fatty tissue in the breast. However a woman cannot determine the ratio between the fatty tissues and the other glands just by herself. Whether or not that if the case can be confirmed only by going for routine mammogram check ups. Since the dense breast tissue hides the tumors in the breast it poses a great danger.

Studies have shown that  between women with 75% dense breast tissue and those with less than 10% dense breast tissue, the earlier is 5 times more likely to get cancer than the latter. Even if a woman with dense breast tissue does not detect any tumors in the first test, she is highly viable to getting a positive in the mammogram within the 1st year.

Out of every 8 women in the world according to the American Cancer Society, one gets breast cancer in her lifetime. This makes breast cancer second only to lung cancer as the most deathly cancers to affect women.

Women should always ask their doctors about the density of their breasts after the mammogram. Monthly self examination is a necessary exercise for detection of any lumps on the breast. Normal breast tissues are bumpy while tumors are harder to touch and hence women will be able to detect any abnormalities during regular self examination.