<p>Cormom I can answer some of it based on my experience and you can decide. At 12PM one day I had a mammogram that was negative. Because i could feel a lump i went right into ultrasound, where at 1Pm they found a 2 cm lump in my very dense breasts. MRI a few weeks later found a neoplasm that ultrasound missed. I was treated for BRCA 7 years ago and am still standing because of MRI. I have insisted on MRI every year since, but last year insurance nixed it. I cried, and got another nuclear test approved. This year, i could only get digital mammo, and the radiologist and I chatted a loooong time. he said 20% of tumors on dense breasts are missed on mammogram. Next year i get an MRI.<br>
Bottom line is that it is awkward but the gold standard with dense breasts I am told. Has your sister with BRCA been tested genetically? I’m not a MD, but am still standing 7years later because of MRI.</p>
<p>so glad i found this thread. i had my mammogram today. the result is not so good. an ultra sound guided biopsy has been suggested. two years ago, i had sterotactic guided biopsy. luckily, the mass was found to be benign. i was told i have dense tissue and lots of calcifications. i have had diagnostic mammograms at 6,12 and now 24 months post biopsy. all i was told today is they found a new mass that wasn’t there 12 months ago. </p>
<p>i called to the doctor who ordered the mammogram to discuss the next step. hopefully, she will call back soon.</p>
<p>myboby123, if you have dense tissue, the mass may have been there 12 months ago… they just didn’t see it. Make sure you watch the video shared by SouthJerseyChessMom (Post #28)… it was an eye-opener for me as I had never seen other women’s mammograms. I always thought everyone else’s images looked like mine… a mass of white. I actually thought they were looking for the black spots on the image! LOL. </p>
<p>Sending you good thoughts… I would say don’t worry, but I know that is difficult to do. But I hope you find some comfort in that fact that I just had five lumps found and biopsied all at once and they were all benign. Please do let us know how you do.</p>
<p>myboby123, if you have dense tissue, the mass may have been there 12 months ago… they just didn’t see it. Make sure you watch the video shared by SouthJerseyChessMom (Post #28)… it was an eye-opener for me as I had never seen other women’s mammograms. I always thought everyone else’s images looked like mine… a mass of white. I actually thought they were looking for the black spots on the image! LOL. </p>
<p>Sending you good thoughts… I would say don’t worry, but I know that is difficult to do. But I hope you find some comfort in that fact that I just had five lumps found and biopsied all at once and they were all benign. Please do let us know how you do.</p>
<p>Myboby123- sorry to read that you are going through this. did you see the recent ( couple days ago) news about mammograms and dense breasts? In the national news segment I saw they said that some states are now INFORMING women they have dense breasts.It is very significant.</p>
<p>I mention because my niece (33 yr old) had mammograms which didn’t detect her fibroadenoma a- which she could feel. After biopsy there were benign.</p>
<p>Did you have ultrasound after the diagnostic mammos? ultrasound should be routine for dense breasts.</p>
<p>I googled “dense breasts and mammograms”
Search in NEWS</p>
<p>[DOTmed.com</a> - Dense breast dilemma: Should we add ultrasound to mammography?](<a href=“Dense breast dilemma: Should we add ultrasound to mammography?”>Dense breast dilemma: Should we add ultrasound to mammography?)
Dense breast dilemma: Should we add ultrasound to mammography?
March 12, 2013
by Loren Bonner , DOTmed News Online Editor</p>
<p>Panelist Dr. Alfonso Frigerio, head of the Piedmont Regional Reference Center for Breast Cancer Screening in Torino, Italy, said he’s always regarded breast density as a “great methodological problem.” </p>
<p>“There’s such variability in measuring density and then implementing changes in the protocol,” he said. “It’s not an easy task.” </p>
<p>On a mammogram, dense breasts have less fat and more connective tissue, which appear white on the mammogram, just like cancer, possibly making it easy for radiologists to miss. </p>
<p>Berg said that roughly half of women under age 50 have dense breasts (breast density is said to decrease after menopause). She said dense tissue is a risk factor for developing cancer in women, and also a risk doctors take trying to best detect it. </p>
<p>“It’s a double whammy for women,” said Berg. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, the issue of breast density is gaining traction in the U.S., driven in part by new legislation. Connecticut was the first state to enact a law three years ago, requiring doctors to inform women of their breast density and possible risks following a mammogram. Similar laws have since been adopted in California, New York, Texas and Virginia. Other states are also considering breast density bills — but not without contention among medical experts and lawmakers. Connecticut is also the only state that requires insurance coverage for supplemental screenings, specifically ultrasound and MRI.</p>
<p>This was being discussed at the doctor office I worked at yesterday:
[False-Positive</a> Mammograms Can Trigger Long-Term Distress - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/03/19/false-positive-mammograms-can-trigger-long-term-distress]False-Positive”>http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/03/19/false-positive-mammograms-can-trigger-long-term-distress)
I understand what they are saying, but it is how the call-back is handled that can help or hurt the anxiety.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for your support.
my biopsy is scheduled for next Monday. I have been offered to take anti-anxiety medication before the procedure but i declined. I will report back next week.</p>
<p>Debruns, if that study is correct, then I’m in trouble because it seems like I get a false positive every two years! So I am constantly stressed! LOL</p>