Diagnosed with ‘dense breasts’? You may need more than a mammogram

(Yuki Noguchi/ NPR) — Joy, a 46-year-old in Pittsburgh, recalls being the same age as her teenage boys, when her own mother diligently got cancer screenings. “She had her mammograms every year,” Joy says.

But, Joy thinks her mother likely had what doctors call “dense breasts,” as she does. That means more concentrated clusters of glands and tissue, as opposed to fat. So the 2D, black-and-white images of a typical mammogram X-ray likely didn’t catch the tumor her mom had until it had grown big enough to feel.

“She was diagnosed at age 43 and by 48 she was gone,” says Joy, who asked that NPR use only her first name as she hasn’t shared her health information widely with friends and family.

When Joy herself turned 43, she enrolled in a breast-imaging study, which gave her a mammogram that came back showing nothing of concern. But then, after researchers followed up with more high-contrast imaging, Joy got a call back: “We think we see something.”

About 40% of women fall into the categories ranging from dense to extremely dense breasts — putting them at higher risk of developing cancer, which is also harder to detect on 2D or even newer 3D mammograms. (…)