Dense breast tissue cannot be felt by a woman, such as during a breast self-exam, or by her doctor during a clinical breast exam. Only a radiologist looking at a mammogram can tell if a woman has dense breasts. Dense breasts are sometimes called mammographically dense breasts.
Dense (fibrous and glandular) breast tissue looks white on a mammogram. Breast masses and cancers can also look white, so the dense tissue can make it harder to see them. In contrast, fatty tissue looks almost black on a mammogram, so it's easier to see a tumor that looks white if most of the breast is fat tissue.
No. Breast pain or tenderness is not related to breast density. Breast pain that comes and goes is often because of changes in hormones due to your period and is most common on the sides of your breasts (near your arms and underarms).
Breast density changes with age, for example. On average, older women have lower density breast tissue than do younger women. The greatest change in density occurs during the menopause years. Breast density also changes with certain types of hormone therapies, such as hormone treatments for menopause.
If you are losing fatty tissue in your breasts, you will have increased breast density since there is less fatty tissue compared to glandular tissues. Denser breasts are linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. Women whose mammogram shows extremely dense breasts can get a mammogram call-back after weight loss.
If you're one of the many women with dense breast tissue, you'll need to get extra familiar with your breasts in monthly self-exams. That's because dense tissue can feel fibrous or lumpy compared with fattier tissue, and detecting an abnormal spot can be trickier.
Breasts are called dense when a mammogram shows more fibrous tissue and less fat. Do dense breasts feel different? Dense breasts don't feel any different than breasts with more fatty tissue. This means you can't tell if you have dense breasts on your own or with a clinical breast exam.
In general, smaller-breasted women tend to have dense breasts and larger-breasted women tend to have more fat in their breasts.
Higher density breasts are actually quite common — upwards of half of the women in the U.S. ages 40-74 have them. Young, thin women as well as women of a healthy weight are more apt to have dense breasts than obese women. Also, as women age, their breasts tend to become more fatty and less dense.
50% of women have dense breast tissue, but it's more common in young women, especially those with a lower body mass index. “Genetics, body mass index and age are some of the main drivers.
The perkier and firmer your breasts feel, the more dense they may be, but there are ligaments and other tissues that cause hardness or lumps that are unrelated to the amount of fibrous tissue.
“Breast density has nothing to do with how your breasts look or feel,” Dr. Musser explains. “It does not affect the fit of bras and swimming suits or determine the degree of sagging a woman experiences with age. It is an assessment based on the mammographic appearance of your breast tissue.”
Can I change my breast density? No — breast density is determined by genetics, age, menopause status and family history. Weight gain and certain medications can also influence your breast density.
Why Do Breasts Get Bigger With Age? Technically, they don't. It's not age that makes your breast get bigger. It's weight gain—and people happen to gain weight as they age.
Most likely breast pain is from hormonal fluctuations from menstruation, pregnancy, puberty, menopause, and breastfeeding. Breast pain can also be associated with fibrocystic breast disease, but it is a very unusual symptom of breast cancer.
Women with less body fat are more likely to have more dense breast tissue compared with women who are obese. Take hormone therapy for menopause.
Women who follow a regular Western diet of high-fat dairy products, red meat consumption, and high-sugar foods are at greater risk of maintaining dense breast tissue and are more inclined to develop breast cancer.
Understand what it means to have dense breast tissue
“Density has nothing to do with breast weight, size or shape,” Dr. Attai says. “You can't feel density. Breasts are naturally very lumpy and bumpy, but that has nothing to do with density.”
Studies suggest that vitamin D may reduce breast cancer risk and dietary vitamin D intake has been associated with reduced breast density.
Scientists believe vitamin D may play a crucial role in moderating breast cell growth, specifically stopping the growth of cancer cells. Learn more about how vitamin D benefits breast health and how to get it.
Lumpy Breast Tissue
Sometimes what feels like a lump is just dense breast tissue or a ridge of breast tissue. Regular breast self-exams can help women familiarize themselves with their breasts, Dr. Brennan says.
Breast MRI seems to be the best supplemental screening method for finding cancer in women with dense breasts. Feb 2, 2023.
In fact, the only way to tell whether you have dense breasts is via mammogram. The screening is recommended every one or two years for women starting in their forties or fifties, depending on individual preference and risk factors, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
There's nothing wrong with wearing a bra while you sleep if that's what you're comfortable with. Sleeping in a bra will not make a girl's breasts perkier or prevent them from getting saggy. And it will not stop breasts from growing or cause breast cancer.