Dense Breasts

Dense breast tissue is quite common; in fact about half of all women have it. It means there's more glandular breast tissue compared to fatty tissue and it's completely normal. So, no need to panic if you hear you have dense breasts.

However, it's important to know that dense breast tissue can make it a bit tricky to spot breast cancer on a mammogram and therefore slightly increases your risk of breast cancer.

That's why women with dense breasts might need extra screening such as breast ultrasounds or breast MRIs.

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The categories for dense breasts include:

1. Almost entirely fatty (A)

2. Scattered areas of dense fibroglandular tissue (B)

3. Many areas of glandular and connective tissue (C)

4. Extremely dense (D)

Breasts are considered "dense" if they fall into the heterogeneously dense (C) or extremely dense (D) categories.

If you've been told you have dense breasts and have concerns, don't hesitate to talk to your doctor or use our Ask The Specialist service.