Did you know…
“Between 30% and 50% of cancers identified in women who undergo screening mammography are not detected by mammography.” – Dr. Christiane Kuhl, University of Aachen, Germany.
Sadly Nancy Cappello’s invasive cancer was missed by mammograms. She founded a nonprofit organization, Are You Dense, to alert women about dense breast tissue masking invasive breast cancers on mammography. Watch this video where she discusses her false negative “Happygram” with Joan Lunden:
Dense breast tissue is one of the strongest predictors of the failure of mammography screening to detect cancer.
Five more facts about dense breast tissue…
- 40% of women have dense breast tissue.
- Two-thirds of pre-menopausal women and 1/4 of post menopausal women have dense breast tissue.
- Mammography misses every other cancer in dense breasts.
- Breast density is a well-established predictor of breast cancer risk.
- High breast density is a greater risk factor than having two first degree relatives with breast cancer.
Sources: Are You Dense? ; Are You Dense? Advocacy
Thank you Nancy Capello for your groundbreaking work.
You can read about alternative imaging for women with dense breast tissue here:
DCIS 411 