There isn’t a woman alive that doesn’t have in the back of her mind the thought of breast cancer and with it a prayer she never gets it. We’re constantly reminded to check for lumps in order to catch abnormalities early so we do what we’re told like so many other things we do growing up as girls and get our annual mammograms. With any kind of luck, we’ll live a rich full life and be breast cancer free.

But when getting that yearly evaluation, how many women consider breast density?” Most are unfamiliar with the term or even what is meant by it because it isn’t commonly mentioned until there is an irregularity and you have to go back for a second diagnostic mammogram. At that point the technician, radiologist or your own doctor will tell you if you have dense breast tissue and you are left wondering what that is.

Typically, breast density is measured and recorded, but not explained, to you. It’s a characteristic seldom discussed with patients. Typically, the denser the breast, the more difficult the mammogram is to read. It’s also important to understand that breast density can change over time. This is a good reason to track it from mammogram to mammogram. If your density goes up, so does the risk for breast cancer.

So what is a woman to do? One, if you’re menopausal, factor in your breast density before starting hormone replacement therapy [HRT] of estrogen and/or progestin. In the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative trial, researchers discovered that this group of post menopausal women had a greater risk of breast cancer when taking HRT than women taking a placebo. By knowing your breast density, it can help when making a decision to use or not use HRT.

Another reason breast density information may be useful is that you may decide to have an MRI or ultrasound exam in addition to a mammogram. This is something, however, that you must request. It’s not common practice for the doctor to automatically order it when there seems to be no visible problem.

Breast cancer survivor, Cindy Peterson, meticulously watches her health by working closely with her oncologist who ‘coaches’ her wellness program. She takes her prescribed medications while weaving through her Westernized protocol a selection of natural remedies. Among them are alkalized water combined with the new Asea. Whereas alkalized water hydrates her body well, it also keeps toxins flushed out of her cells and changes the internal terrain making it more alkaline which cancer cells don’t seem to like. She’s finding Asea is boosting her immune system, helping with her sleep and contributing to an improved mental outlook. It’s still too early to determine any other effects it may have. Cindy recommends highly that every single woman request, along with her regular mammogram, an ultrasound. She has a firm belief that had she had an ultrasound much, much earlier the 7 centimeter size tumor in her breast would have been detected perhaps before it even became cancerous. In dense breast tissue, it is simply too easy for a small tumor to be overlooked and by the time it is detected, it may be too late.

With the knowledge this dense tissue characteristic brings to the table, it’s important to get more emphasis on how to put it to its best use. Presently it is not part of the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool. To make it so the pressure needs to come from patients and loved ones—tell your doctor your views, write to the National Cancer Institute who developed the risk assessment kit, and/or write your senators and/or representatives pushing for more action on this matter.

Factors that should make you request if not demand more than a mammogram are:

• Medical history of breast cancer
• Your age
• Age at your first menstrual period
• Age you had your first child
• Family history of breast cancer
• Any biopsy history and the results of it if you had one
• Race or ethnicity

Breast density is not part of this list. There are many researchers and scientists that believe it should be added. To date, there is no indication that it will be.

Enjoy and use this article, but please be legal. Include this resource block and all is good…LouAnn Savage is publisher and editor of The Weekly Healthline, an online health publication. She is lecturer, researcher and marketer for health and fitness programs and product that advance the world toward true health. Follow LouAnn at her corporate website, http://www.HealthFitforLife.com, http://www.Savage.TeamAsea.com and on www.twitter.com/louannsavage and Facebook.

Filed under: General Health