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Lisa's Story

Name: Lisa
State: Connecticut
Age at Diagnosis: 45
Stage of Diagnosis: 1
Time from "normal" mammogram to diagnosis: "Normal" mammogram yet the ultrasound found a 1.5 cm invasive cancer.
How was cancer detected?: By ultrasound

My yearly mammogram showed nothing - yet that same morning, the ultrasound revealed a lesion in my right breast. One month later, I had a lumpectomy and the pathology report measured the tumor at 1.5 cm, in addition to two non-invasive tumors. The cancer was at stage 1 with micro metastases to 2 out of 3 nodes. My treatment consisted of 4 chemotherapy sessions and radiation.

"I want to tell you how grateful I am for you." My oncologist even said "kudos to the state of Connecticut" for passing breast density legislation.

COMMENT FROM AYD

There are too many women, like Lisa, with normal mammography reports yet have hidden invasive cancer because of their dense tissue. Lisa's cancer, if left unattended would continue to grow until palpable; hence her EARLY stage 1 diagnosis would be a "what if" dream.

Shouldn't doctors routinely inform women of the risks and screening challenges of dense breast tissue? Study after study reports a direct correlation between invasive cancer at time of discovery and mortality. Cancer does not care HOW it was discovered but THAT it was discovered.

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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.