Melanin & Pink Ribbons

As per the CDC breasts are made up of 3 types of tissue:

• Fibrous tissue holds the breasts in place
• Glandular Tissue is the part that makes the milk
• Fatty Tissue fills the space between fibrous and glandular tissue, and it gives the breasts their shape

Breast density is the amount of fibrous and glandular tissue versus fatty tissue and believe it or not there are some concerning facts about dense breasts:

• 10% of all women have fatty breasts
• 40% of women have scattered breast density meaning it has a varying mix of the 3 tissues
• 40% have even breast density of the 3 tissues
• 10% of all women have dense breasts

Dense breasts shockingly result in an increased risk of breast cancer. To complicate matters more dense breast tissue and tumors both look white on mammograms. This results in the mammograms of dense breast women are more difficult to read.

If you are a woman reading this post you know our breasts change over time, the density can decrease but its important to be your own advocate if you have dense breasts. If you have dense breasts your doctor may suggest a breast ultrasound for a clearer image or a breast MRI also to obtain a clearer image of the breast.

Just like with all my posts educate yourself to your options so you can have a voice in your medical care.