What Dense Tissue Means for Your Risk

Dense breasts are completely normal, especially when you are younger. They do, however, have two consequences. First, density is a risk factor in its own right: women with very high density have a higher risk of breast cancer than women with fatty breasts. Second, dense tissue makes a mammogram harder to read, because both glandular tissue and tumors show up white on the X ray image.

This does not mean you did anything wrong. Breast density is no more something you can change than your family history is. What matters is knowing about it: with dense breasts, an additional exam such as an ultrasound can be worthwhile. [internal link: Dense breasts, which exam helps]

Whether you have dense tissue is something the mammogram determines. Bring up the result actively, so the two of you can decide together about exams that make sense to add.