Approximately 50 percent of women (or those assigned female at birth) have dense breasts, and having dense breasts automatically puts them at a higher risk of cancer. Most significantly (and independent of the higher cancer risk), both dense breast tissue and cancer show up as white in a mammogram, which means that mammograms are unable to properly view 40 to 50 percent of breast tissue.
So what are we left with? A reality in which millions of women are left uncovered and unprotected against early detection for breast cancer.
(This article originally appears in the Summer 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)