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Angela's Story

Name: Angela
State: California
Date of Diagnosis: December 29, 2009
Age at Diagnosis: 42
Stage of Diagnosis: Stage 1
Time from "normal" mammogram to diagnosis: 5 months
How was cancer detected: By me

I just had a mammogram in July and the results were "normal". In December, I felt a lump and went to my physician. A diagnostic mammogram was ordered and STILL the mammogram could not 'see' the cancer because of my breast density. The ultrasound found a mass and the pathology report confirmed - Cancer. I was fortunate to be diagnosed with an early cancer in spite of two mammograms missing it. My doctors and I agree that because of my dense breasts, I will have a mammogram and an MRI. Even though the MRI may find more suspicious 'areas', I would rather have a biopsy that comes back "no cancer" than a mammogram which reports "normal" but is FALSE. Women with dense breast tissue need to have access to better screening tools.

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AYD In The News

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.