Although we cannot change the density of the chest, we can improve detection. If you have a dense breast, your mammography report may offer to talk to the doctor about additional visualization, for example Mris or Ultrasoundwhich do not use radiation and are better to find cancer in dense fabric.
MRI helped to catch my cancer early. I started a high-risk screening in 2019 because of my dense breast and my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis at 49. I reluctantly started regular MRI, stunning six months after my mammography, so I will undergo screening twice a year. I really did not think that I needed them, and missed one or two during Covid.
But then, at the beginning of 2022, the MRI discovered a “suspicious mass” – a terrifying phrase for reading in a report on mammography.
The radiologist recommended the subsequent mammography and ultrasound, but not a single scan showed anything abnormal (due to this effect of the White Bear). Six months later, I returned for the subsequent MRI, and this time he not only discovered the mass, but also showed that she had grown. The next step was a biopsy, and about a week later, right before Christmas, I found out that it was cancer.
My doctors were surprised how elusive my tumor was – it remained Invisible on mammography And ultrasound even a week before surgery. These hidden tumors, known as “mammographically occult,” sound like a Netflix series that I would prefer to skip.
Now I urge every woman I know to check the status of their breast density and discuss additional screening, if necessary. And yet one rollback that I often hear: I hate to get mammograms– Why do I subscribe to an even greater show?
I understand. But the answer is simple: he can save your life.
The key to surviving cancer is to catch it early, at the stage 0 or 1, when it is only in the chest. At these stages, the tumors are small and very much amplified, with Five -year survival 99%Field
