Medically Reviewed by W. Shawn Conwell, MD, FACR

McLeod Breast Imaging Director Dr. Shawn Conwell explains what it means to have dense breast tissue and why mammograms are so important.

A mammogram is not a perfect test. Mammograms do miss some types of breast cancer, and in patients who have dense breasts, we know that mammograms may miss half of the cancers that are present. However, this modality can be supplemented by the use of ultrasound, which is not limited by dense breast tissue.

Patients often ask, why can’t you see masses very well in patients with dense breasts? And I say, it’s kind of like trying to see a polar bear through a snowstorm. You’re trying to see something white that’s on a white background. It’s just very difficult to detect. There’s only one way to know whether or not you have dense breasts, and that’s to get a mammogram. You can’t tell based on size. You cannot tell based on feel. You cannot tell based on age. The only way to know if you have dense breasts is to get a mammogram, and then we can make that density assessment at that time.

Our density assessment is also assisted by a computer analysis, which tells us what density it thinks the patient’s breast tissue is, and so that helps us across multiple readers make a less subjective, more quantitative assessment of that breast tissue density. Dense breast tissue not only reduces our chance of seeing breast cancer on a mammogram if you were to get it; it also is an independent risk factor in and of itself. Similar to a family member or first degree relative who’s had breast cancer—a risk factor on about that same level. So it is something that we definitely want to pay very close attention to in terms of being a risk factor, in terms of limiting the efficacy of the  mammogram, and in terms of identifying who may benefit from some additional screening tests, such as ultrasound.

Learn more about breast health services at McLeod. You can schedule your mammogram at a McLeod Hospital by CLICKING HERE or calling McLeod Reservations and Scheduling at (843) 777-2095 and choosing OPTION 1.