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Fran's Story

Name: Frances
State: Virginia
Date of Diagnosis: 2011
Age at Diagnosis: 44
Stage of Diagnosis: 3A
Time from "normal" mammogram to diagnosis: Eight months
How was cancer detected?: By Frances

In 2009, I was called back for a diagnostic mammo and US. I was scared that I had BC. The radiologist said "It's nothing." There was no discussion about my dense breast tissue. I was so happy I didn't have BC.

The next year my mammogram was normal. Eight months later, I felt a lump. It was in the exact place the radiologist said "it's nothing" two years prior. He was so wrong – a stage 3A cancer diagnosis. I could have been diagnosed at a much earlier stage if my doctor recommended a non-invasive biopsy. Instead, two years later, I'm diagnosed with later stage cancer.

Even thought I am a nurse, I never knew about my dense tissue and that it could mask tumors. Now, I tell all my friends to make sure to discuss their density w/ health care providers. It could mean the difference between an early and late stage cancer. My doctors are now aware of my missed delayed diagnosis and the masking risk of dense breast tissue on mammogram.

UPDATE ON FRAN: (3-26-14)

Fran was training for a half-marathon in August 2013 and saw her oncologist as she was experiencing hip pain. She decided to walk instead of run. Fran's nurse's instincts took over and she went for another opinion - and what she suspected but did not want to hear - her stage 3 cancer was now stage 4 as it had metastasized to her spine and pelvis - 3 years after her NORMAL mammogram. She is receiving treatment in Texas. Please consider a donation to help her with her expenses here.

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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.