This brings us to another important question. Is there a difference in dense breasts, or are all dense breasts considered the same?
If your breasts are determined to be dense, a general level of breast density is assigned by healthcare professionals. This is done through a system called BI-RADS.
According to the Mayo Clinic, this system consists of four levels of breast density. The first is classified as “almost entirely fatty.” This occurs in just one out of 10 women. In this classification, the breasts are nearly all fat.
The second category is called “scattered areas of fibroglandular density.” This means that while some of the breast is dense, most of it is not. It is thought that four out of 10 women fall into this category.
The third classification category is titled “heterogeneously dense,” which means that most (but not all) of the breast is dense. This also affects about four in 10 women.
And finally, breasts can be labeled as “extremely dense.” This means that almost all of the breast tissue is dense. This affects roughly one in 10 women.
The last two categories are considered to be truly dense breasts. And according to the Mayo Clinic, about fifty percent of women who have mammograms fall into these two categories. Yes, that's right, half of all women who actually have mammograms are found to have dense breasts.
If medical professionals determine that a patient does have dense breasts, experts say that other screening steps may be necessary to detect breast cancer. There are several options in this respect.