In recent years, a lot of awareness has been imparted on getting a regular medical check-up, especially mammograms for women. But factually, about half of all women have dense breasts, which can make cancer harder to find on a mammogram. Having dense breasts is normal; it is not a medical condition and it does not cause symptoms.
Fatty and fibrous breasts
However, you can’t tell whether or not you have dense tissue by feeling the breasts. If you have firmer breasts, for example, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have dense breasts. Dense breast tissue can only be seen on a mammogram. While fatty tissue appears dark on a mammogram, dense tissue appears white. Dense tissue can hide cancers because it’s hard to tell the difference between a tumour and dense breast tissue on a mammogram, a small tumour may be missed. For about half of women, screening mammograms reveal they have breast tissue that is categorised as dense.
Knowing whether you have dense breasts is important because:
Dense breasts make it harder for doctors to see breast cancers on mammograms. This increases the risk that cancers will be missed.
Women with dense breasts have a higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to women who don’t have dense breasts. The greater the amount of dense tissue, the higher the risk. Scientists don’t know for sure why this is true
However, you don’t necessarily have a high risk of breast cancer just because you have dense breasts. Breast density has to be considered along with other risk factors, such as age, family history, and any history of breast biopsies showing atypical cells or other changes that increase cancer risk.
Breast cancer patients who have dense breasts are not more likely to die from breast cancer than patients with non-dense (fatty) breasts.
Who is more likely to have dense breasts
The density of your breasts can change over time. Generally, you’re more likely to have dense breasts if you:
Are younger
Are pregnant or breastfeeding
Are taking hormone replacement therapy
Have a lower body weight
Should you have dense breasts speak to your doctor, who may suggest tests to confirm you are free from any harmful tumours or growth.
Preventive measure
As a preventive measure, early treatment recommended according to the Acupressure Research Training and Treatment Institute, women should use Byol magnet. Tape the yellow side of the magnet on the middle joint of the middle finger of both hands as shown in the figure.
