D.E.N.S.E.™
Facts

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"It just might be the greatest cancer risk you’ve never heard of."1

Five facts about dense breast tissue

  1. 40% of women have dense breast tissue.
  2. Breast density is one of the strongest predictors of the failure of mammography to detect cancer.
  3. Mammography misses every other cancer in dense breasts.
  4. Breast density is a well-established predictor of breast cancer risk.
  5. Breast density is a greater risk factor than having two first degree relatives with breast cancer.

The vast majority of women are unaware of the density of their breasts.2

  1. 95% of women do not know their breast density.
  2. Less than one in 10 learn about their dense breast tissue from their doctors.

Adding screening technologies to mammography for women with dense breast tissue will increase detection by up to 100%. These invasive cancers, missed by mammography, are small, node negative and at an EARLY stage.

D.E.N.S.E.™
Are You Dense Advocacy Inc: State, Federal and Regulatory Efforts

Connecticut was the first state to enact an Insurance Coverage Law and Breast Density Notification Law. Texas, Virginia, New York, California, Hawaii and Maryland have enacted breast density notification laws. Numerous state legislatures have introduced legislation in 2013. Federal Breast Density Legislation and MQSA regulatory efforts are underway to standardize the communication of dense breast tissue across the country.

"Standardizing the communication of dense breast tissue will prevent later stage cancers and give ALL women access to an EARLY diagnosis – when most treatable and with better survival outcomes."


Nancy M Cappello, Ph.D., President and Founder, Are You Dense Advocacy Inc.


References: 1. Los Angeles Times, "Breast density linked to Cancer Risk," Karen Ravn, 6/21/10. 2. Harris Interactive National Survey, 5/2010.