Screening breast ultrasound is a test in which a complete scan of each breast is performed by a trained sonographer or an automated machine. Screening breast ultrasound is done in women who have “dense” breasts, or breasts made of more fibrous (connective/supportive) tissue and glandular tissue (the stuff that makes milk and carries it to the nipple) than fat. A woman who has predominantly fibrous and glandular tissue and not a lot of fat in her breasts has dense breasts.
Why is this important? Unfortunately, dense breast tissue is white on a mammogram, and so are masses. Masses can actually be hidden by normal, dense tissue.
Additional testing is now available to women with dense breasts. Recent scientific studies have shown that breast ultrasound and breast MRI can both improve the detection of cancer in women with dense breasts, especially when used in conjunction with annual mammography. At Breast Center of New England we’ll let you know what your breast density is so you can decide if additional testing with screening ultrasound is right for you.
For more information on breast density visit https://densebreast-info.org