Home Nancy's Chalkboard Blog Staggering Disparity in BC Diagnosis: How 100 Miles Make the Difference

Staggering Disparity in BC Diagnosis: How 100 Miles Make the Difference

Originally Posted Mar 3rd, 2014

Nancy M. Cappello, Ph.D. Founder & Director,
Are You Dense, Inc. &
Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc. See Bio

Staggering Disparity: How 100 miles make the difference

Jan, who resides in Connecticut, was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Three days later, Cindy, a Massachusets resident, was diagnosed with advanced stage cancer which metastisized to 16 lymph nodes - why the staggering difference? 100 miles.

What if Cindy lived 100 miles south and was informed of her dense breast tissue and had adjunct screening in 2009? There is a research-compelling probability that her cancer would have been detected - exchanging her advanced diagnosis with an early one.

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What is Dense Breast Tissue?

How Do I Know if I Have Dense Breast Tissue?

What Do I Do if I Have Dense Breast Tissue?

Are You Dense? Fact #1:
Breast density is one of the strongest predictors of the failure of mammography screening to detect cancer.
Are You Dense? Fact #2:
Two-thirds of pre-menopausal women and 40% of post-menopausal women have dense breast tissue.
Are You Dense? Fact #3:
Adding more sensitive tests to mammography significantly increase detection of invasive cancers that are small and node negative.
Are You Dense? Fact #4:
American College of Radiology describes women with "Dense Breast Tissue" as having a higher than average risk of Breast Cancer.
Are You Dense? Fact #5:
While a mammogram detects 98% of cancers in women with fatty breasts, it finds only 48% in women with dense breasts.
Are You Dense? Fact #6:
A woman at average risk and a woman at high risk have an EQUAL chance of having their cancer masked by mammogram.
Are You Dense? Fact #7:
Women with dense breasts who had breast cancer have a four times higher risk of recurrence than women with less-dense breasts.
Are You Dense? Fact #8:
A substantial proportion of Breast Cancer can be attributed to high breast density alone.
Are You Dense? Fact #9:
Cancer turns up five times more often in women with extremely dense breasts than those with the most fatty tissue.
Are You Dense? Fact #10
There are too many women who are unaware of their breast density, believe their “Happy Gram” when it reports no significant findings and are at risk of receiving a later stage cancer diagnosis.