Here’s Why Your Mammogram Might Miss Cancer

If you’ve ever had a mammogram, you probably assumed it tells the full story about your breast health. But for nearly 50% of women, that’s not always true, because of something called dense breast tissue.

Here’s the problem: Dense breast tissue shows up white on a mammogram. Breast cancer also shows up white on a mammogram.

That makes it like trying to find a snowball in a snowstorm possible, but much harder.

Women with dense breasts don’t just have a higher risk of breast cancer, their cancers are also harder to detect, which means diagnosis can happen later, when treatment becomes more complex.

Dense Breasts Are Common And Important to Know About

About 1 in 2 women has dense breast tissue, often without knowing it. And while only about 6 out of every 100 women with dense breasts will develop breast cancer, their risk is higher and their mammograms are less reliable.

Dense doesn’t mean doomed. But it does mean you need more information.

What You Can Do Right Now

The most important step is simple: Ask your doctor if you have dense breasts.

If the answer is yes, request additional screening like:

• Breast ultrasound (sonogram)

• Breast MRI

  
  

These imaging tools can see through dense tissue and catch cancers that mammograms may miss.

This extra step doesn’t replace your mammogram, it completes it.

Your Health, Your Voice

You have the right to ask for better screening. You have the right to understand your risk. And you have the power to advocate for yourself.

Dense does not mean doomed. It means informed and proactive.

Learn more and see what breast imaging looks like at worldofpinkfoundation.org.