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Sherri's Story

Name:	Sherri
State:	New Hampshire
Date of diagnosis:	9/5/13
Age at time of diagnosis:	46
Stage of diagnosis:	Stage 3B
NORMAL mammogram:	2011
How was cancer diagnosed:	Puckering led to diagnosis/3D mammography followed by Ultrasound

Sherri's Story:

In 1999, Sherri found a lump in her breast. She had a lumpectomy on the benign lesion and a marker was inserted. For the next two years, she was followed up with mammogram and ultrasound then yearly mammograms.

In 2011, Sherri's mammogram was NORMAL. Little did she know at the time, that a report from her radiologist to her referring doctor WHICH WAS NOT SHARED WITH HER stated 'Increased microcalcifications too numerous to count/Breast Tissue too dense to determine.'

Prior to her 3D mammogram in 2013, Sherri noticed a puckering in her left breast. The 3D revealed the lesion and subsequent ultrasound and biopsy confirmed breast cancer: Two 3.7 tumors,sentinel node positive for cancer - stage 3B. She has no family history for breast cancer and tested negative for a genetic mutation. Sherri has endured 13 surgeries, including a hysterectomy, had chemotherapy and radiation and is on Arimidex.

Sherri wonders why her doctors never informed her of the impact of her extremely dense tissue on detecting cancer by mammography in 2011. Why would information critical to her breast health AND revealed to her referring doctor, be withheld from her? Was the cancer hidden in dense tissue in 2011 when her mammogram was NORMAL? Could Sherri have averted a later stage diagnosis with numerous surgeries and aggressive treatments if adjunct screening was offered, avoiding a diminished quality of life?

Sherri is committed to Exposing the Secret of Dense Breast Tissue and is advocating for a density reporting law in New Hampshire to protect other women from a later stage diagnosis.

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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.