Different Tests for Different Breasts By Carole Goeller
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ammograms alone may miss cancer in dense breasts, yet most women are unaware of their breast density. More than 40 percent of American women have dense breasts, which can increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer by four to six times. It’s a stronger factor in personal risk assessment than family history. You can’t tell by touch, sight or breast size. The only way to know if you have dense breast tissue is by having a mammogram. If you have dense breasts, it simply means your breasts are filled with more fibrous tissue than fat. Dense tissue can hide cancer on a mammogram and may require additional testing.
Many states have enacted legislation to tell women about their breast density; that is, when a woman has a mammogram, by law, the patient must be informed of her breast density and how it pertains to her risk of getting breast cancer. This gives women the opportunity to have additional testing as needed to ensure her imaging results are not only accurate, but as thorough as possible. New Mexico has no such law. Sadly, this often means most New Mexican women are completely unaware of their breast density. Fortunately, there is one facility in the state that has the newest technology Dr. Monica Saini
available to offer additional screening to women with dense breasts. At Santa Fe Imaging, there is a 3D Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) which is designed especially for screening dense breasts. ABUS does not use radiation or compression like a mammogram. The images from an ABUS exam help identify cancers which may be hidden in dense tissue on mammographic images. It is important to continue to have regular screening mammograms as well, since cancer may also appear in fatty tissue. How do I know if I have dense tissue? What should I do? • Get a mammography screening exam • Ask about your breast density • If you have dense breasts, ask your doctor about 3D Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) ABOUT DR. SAINI Chief breast radiologist Dr. Monica Saini joined Santa Fe Imaging in September 2008. A radiologist specializing in breast imaging, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Science of Physiology at Rosalind Franklin University, and her medical degree from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Saini completed her Internship and Diagnostic Radiology Residency at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Her fellowship was in women’s imaging at the University of Washington-Seattle. Dr. Saini has become well known in the implementation of 3D Automated Breast Ultrasound. Her expertise has been sought around the country to train others in utilizing ABUS for dense breasted patients, and she has been featured in Forbes magazine. Santa Fe Imaging 1640 Hospital Dr. 505.983.9350