Hi this is my first post so hello to all. I’m 38 and had my first mammogram a couple of months ago. I was called back due to an abnormality in my L breast but after having another digital mammogram and an ultrasound fortunately it came back normal. I requested to be sent my medical notes and when looking at my mammogram it was noted I had breast density both breasts. I don’t know the percentrage of my breast density but it looks quite high. It’s scattered so it’s hard to judge myself. I also have a family history of bc. Mum diagnosed 10 yrs ago, 2 auties (mum’s side) and my dad who passed away of lung cancer which spread to the brain and heart. I’m considering a double mastectomy due to the breast density as I’m 5 times likely to develop bc. This hasn’t been confirmed but it looks like there could be a link between breast density and bc.
Is this quite normal in woman to have breast density and should I go on tamoxifen to decrease it?
Pretty much all premenopausal women have some degree of dense breasts… And this is why mammograms are sometimes not so efficient in younger women and why they arent routinely done in younger women… However in those with a family history mammogramms have found to be the best method of detecting breast cancer for the majority of people with a family history.
In scotland if you have a high risk of early onset breast cancer (usually more affected individuals than in yoru own family) and you are in your 40s with dense breasts they should also offer an annual MRI of your breasts… This is the MRi criteria… Not certain what itis in england.
“in their forties and whose 10 year risk is greater than 20% as assessed at age 40, or 12% where there is a dense mammographic pattern.”
Breast density is also a difficult thing to assess as its down to the individual looking at the mammograms and what one person views as mixed, another may view as dense and another as fatty… So its ot an exact science… Its most common to be mixed with some fatty and sime dense areas.
It maybe be helpful to go back to your genetic clinic and speiscuss it with them and its them who woukd normally refer you for risk reducing surgery but this isnt usually available unless you are a high risk like a brca gene carrier.