Welcome to
Part
of a healthy lifestyle is not only prevention, but
understanding how to partner with your physician for tests
to detect cancer at the earliest stages.
When it comes to breast cancer, sometimes a mammogram
alone, may not be enough. Early detection of breast cancer
may be more difficult for women with dense breasts. Forty
percent of women undergoing annual screenings have dense
breasts, according to the American College of Radiology
Imaging Network (ACRIN). The majority of women under 50
have dense breasts, though women at any age can have
them.. Sensitivity on a
film mammogram can be as low as 30-55% in women with dense
breasts.
Purpose:
The purpose of Know Your Density is to save lives by
empowering women with knowledge and a guide for what they
can do to help their doctors detect cancer early. Early
detection saves lives.
A personal mission:
This
is a personal mission for me, as a breast cancer survivor.
As a woman who had four significant tumors that were not
detectable on a mammogram, I sought solid, researched based
answers. What I learned and what I want to share with women
everywhere, is what I wish I had known. Survival rates are
much higher when breast cancer is caught in its earliest
stages. At the very least, when caught early, aggressive
treatment and the long term effects of it, may possibly be
avoided.
I believe that knowledge is power and action is everything.
Find out about the things you need to do, to help your
doctors with early detection: SCRAM exams, and being
FEISTY© with your actions!
Learn
about how SCRAM exams and being FEISTY with your breast
health could save your life if you have dense breasts, by
reading "What I wish I'd known" on the Early Detection page.
Read more about breast density and your risk in a Q & A
on the Breast Cancer Facts page. You can also read my
personal story, "Cancer Will Never Happen to
Me",
a story I wrote for Cary Magazine in 2004.
A special
thanks to Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, Breast Imaging
Consultant and Study Chair for the American
College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) Protocol
on Screening Breast Ultrasound, for reviewing the
material presented for content and
accuracy
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