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Women should know their breast density, study says; how many do?


Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Los Angeles Times

Mammograms should be recommended to women based on several individual risk factors, such as age, family history and breast density, doctors said in a study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

But how many women know their breast density?

Under legislation proposed in California, every woman who has a mammogram would also receive information on her breast density. Studies have confirmed that having more high-density tissue, which has less fat, raises breast cancer risk while having more low-density tissue lowers it.

The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 173, is opposed by several medical groups, however. In a recent statement, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of District IX, the California Radiological Society, the California Medical Assn. and other groups say they oppose the bill.

View the full story (Los Angeles Times)