All about breast density

A lot of women have dense breasts. This video will help you to understand what dense breasts are, and what it means if you have them.

Breasts are made up of three types of tissue: fatty, fibrous, and glandular. Everyone has different amounts of these tissues in their breasts.

There are four categories of breast density: A, B, C and D. Breasts are considered dense if they are in category C or D. This means you have more fibrous and glandular tissue, and less fatty tissue.

Breast density can only be seen on a breast screen, also called a mammogram or X-ray.

Breast density can be assessed by a doctor looking at the X-rays or by a computer.

Breast density is not about how breasts feel, look, the size of them or the firmness. It’s not something you can change.

Breasts tend to get less dense as women get older.

Dense breasts are common.

Up to half of all women over 40 have dense breasts.

So, what does it mean if you have dense breasts?

Dense breasts can make it harder for a doctor to see a breast cancer on a breast screen.

This is because dense areas of breasts appear white on x-rays and breast cancers also appear white on x-rays.

Breast density is also linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

There are lots of other things that can also increase your risk of breast cancer such as age, family history of breast cancer, being obese or drinking alcohol. Not all of these will increase your risk the same amount.

Breast density increases risk of breast cancer about the same amount as being obese after menopause.

Knowing that you have dense breasts means that you can be alert to any changes in your breasts and tell you doctor as soon as possible if you notice a change.

You could also talk to your doctor to find out if there are other tests that you could have.

Other tests include ultrasound and MRI.

Other tests may not be recommended for all women with dense breasts. Breast screens using mammograms or x-rays are still the best way to find breast cancers in most women.

Your doctor will be able to tell you if other tests would be helpful for you.

There are pros and cons to having additional tests.

Other tests can increase the chance of finding breast cancer in some women whose cancer was not seen on the mammogram.

But there are some risks associated with having additional tests. These can include an increased chance of a false positive result.

This is when the results look like a cancer could be present, but it’s a ‘false alarm’ and no cancer is found after more testing.

Another risk is overdiagnosis. This is when a cancer is found that wouldn’t have caused symptoms or death. This can lead to people having treatment that wasn’t needed.

There may also be added costs with visits to the GP and other tests.

Remember that dense breasts are common and aren’t something to feel worried about. Dense breasts can increase risk of breast cancer but so can other things.

Knowing that you have dense breasts means that you can talk to your doctor to find out if there are other tests that you could have. It will also help you to be alert to any changes in your breasts.

Talk to your doctor if you’d like more information about breast density.