Mammography

Mammograms are the most effective tool we have for screening women for breast cancer. They are used to find cancers early, when they are small and easier to treat. Mammograms are also used to assess your breast density. Some women have low breast density while other women have high breast density. Both are common, but mammograms are somewhat less effective at detecting cancer in women with dense breasts. Like dense breast tissue, cancers are white on the mammogram, making it harder for the radiologist to detect.

Our breasts consist of fat and fibroglandular tissues, which includes the glands and ducts that support breast feeding. Breast density is the amount of fibroglandular tissue compared to your breast size. Breast density is determined from your mammogram and not by the way your breasts feel, or their appearance.

Every woman has some amount of breast density. It is important to know your breast density for managing your health, just like knowing your cholesterol score. Having high breast density, like a strong family history of breast cancer, has been linked to higher risk of developing breast cancer.

At Penn Highlands Healthcare, we use Volpara TruDensity™ software to automatically and objectively determine your breast density and provide you more accurate results.

Dense breasts are normal and not caused by illness. All breasts are made of fat, and milk ducts/milk glands held together by fibrous tissue. The glands and fibrous tissue are referred to as “dense tissue.” Each woman’s breasts are different and contain their own mix of fatty and dense tissue. Some women have breasts made of mostly fatty tissue. Some women have a lot of dense tissue. The more glands and fibrous tissue that a woman has, the “denser” her breasts.

Yes. Dense breast can hide cancer on a mammogram and they increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. Cancers grow more often in dense tissue than fatty tissue. The denser the breast, the higher the breast cancer risk.

No. dense breasts are normal and common. However, dense breasts increase the risk of developing breast cancer and having cancer missed on a mammogram.

Smaller breasts are more likely to be dense and larger breasts are more likely to be fatty.

When you have a 2D or 3D mammogram at Penn Highlands, our radiologist will use our new software to classify your breast density as one of four types:

• Fatty
• Scattered Fibroglandular Densities
• Heterogeneously Dense
• Extremely Dense

If our assessment tool indicates dense breasts, your physician may recommend additional screening tests such as an MRI or ultrasound. It is important to note that mammograms sometimes show some cancers that an ultrasound or MRI may not. The combination of tests find the most cancers.

Breast density can change during different stages of a woman’s life. Dense breasts are more often found in women who are younger, pregnant or breastfeeding, are taking hormone replacement therapy or among those who have a lower body weight.

There are not any guidelines or suggestions on how women can lower breast density.

No. Normal male breasts do not contain dense tissue.

If your mother or sister have dense breasts, it is more likely that you will too.