Women with denser breast tissue have a higher risk for breast cancer

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's common for younger women to have denser breast tissue.

"That was part of the reason why mammograms weren't recommended for younger women because by nature," said Dr. Casandra Anderson, a Surgical Oncologist at C Care and the Director of the Breast Center at St. Agnes.

"You're going to have denser breasts from 30 to 50."

Doctor Casandra Anderson tells Action News the breast becomes less dense with age.

"As you go through menopause, your breast change," said Dr. Anderson.

"They become more fatty which makes a mammogram easier to read."

But for some women, that isn't the case.

Health officials say women with dense breast tissue are at higher risk of breast cancer. With the American Cancer Society reporting there is a steeper increase in incidence for women under 50.

"That is why we have lowered the rate of when screening starts," said Dr. Anderson. "So it's been a 1% increase over the last decade."

Health experts are now recommending that monitoring starts earlier.

Women between the ages of 40 to 44 should begin annual breast cancer screening.

Women 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year. While women who are over 55 should get mammograms every two years or continue their yearly screenings.

But Dr. Anderson says it's still up to a woman's individual risk factor.

"Anybody that has up to three first-degree relatives is generally going to be high risk," said Dr. Anderson. "Sometimes it's less. Kind of depending on your periods. When you went into menopause, when you had your first child."

The technology for mammograms has changed over the last several years. Which can make reading it easier, especially for women with dense breasts.

It's also possible to have an MRI done.

"The MRI allows us to look at the dense breast tissue a little more in-depth and can pick up things that we might miss in a dense breast on a mammogram," said Dr. Anderson.

At St. Agnes, Dr. Anderson says they're working to make mammogram screenings more available. The hospital also offers screenings on Saturdays.

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