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4

q

D E N S E B R E A S T S

An inside

tale

Breasts come in all different

sizes and shapes. They also

contain a mixture of fibrous,

glandular and fatty tissue.

Some women have breasts

that are almost entirely fatty.

Others have breasts that are

filled with more fibrous and

glandular tissue and not

much fat. Their breasts are

considered dense.

Dense breasts can be a

challenge for doctors when

reading a mammogram.

That’s because on a

mammogram, dense breast

tissue looks white—and so

do breast masses and tumors.

This means cancer may be

hidden by dense breast tissue.

You can’t tell if your

breasts are dense by feeling

or looking at them. The

only way to determine the

density of your breasts

is with a mammogram.

Radiologists—doctors who

read mammograms—classify

breasts into one of four

categories, ranging from

almost entirely fatty to

extremely dense.

Talk to your doctor if you

learn that you have dense

breasts. Having dense breasts

is linked to a higher risk

of breast cancer, though it

doesn’t mean your risk is high

overall. There are many other

risk factors for breast cancer,

and your overall risk depends

on all of your risks combined.

Sources: American Cancer Society; American

College of Radiology

EXPERT CARE: Dawn Smith, Lead

Mammography Technologist, helps

a patient during a mammogram.