02/18/2026
Dense Breast Tissue & Big Girl Panties - by Charlie Erica Fall
Knowing what your breast density is can save your life. Mammograms are the ONLY way to find out what type of breast tissue you have. You can not tell from touch alone.
How can I find out what my density is?
In the US, from 9/10/2024, your mammogram report must tell you what your breast density is and what it means for you.
There are four types of breast tissue
Fatty Tissue
Scattered Tissue
Heterogeneously Dense Tissue
Extremely Dense Tissue
Fatty and Scattered tissue show up as translucent on a mammogram and it is fairly easy to spot what could be small early stage, node negative cancers. Mammograms can detect up to 98% of cancers in these types of breast tissue.
Heterogeneously Dense and Extremely Dense tissue show up as white on a mammogram. Mammograms can detect less than 50% of cancers in these types of breast tissue.
If you are looking for small, early-stage cancers in dense breast tissue - which are also white - it is very easy to miss them. There is no contrast.
It is like looking for a “grain of rice in a snow storm”.
So, what do I do if I have dense breast tissue?
If you have dense breast tissue you must advocate for other testing to make sure that nothing is being missed i.e. by having structural tests such as ultrasound, MRI, Abbreviated Magnetic Resonance imaging & THERMAL BREAST IMAGING - which can show areas of inflammation in breast tissue before a lump is even detected.
It is not enough to just have mammograms if you have dense breast tissue.
Dense breast tissue is not an illness, it is just a type of tissue many women have.
The US passed a Federal Breast Density Notification Law on September 10, 2024. We are the ONLY country in the world to have such a law. Most countries in the world are now advocating for this knowledge to be available to women.
Mammograms are no longer a “One Size Fits All” test - this is why we have a brand new Federal law in the US.
Additional screening tests to mammography for women with dense breast tissue will increase detection by up to 100%. These invasive cancers, missed by mammography, are small, node negative and at an EARLY stage. This way small cancers can be caught early (via biopsy) and women will have more time to have the treatment that can save their lives.
Time to Put On Your Big Girl Panties & Advocate!
Do not rely on your doctor or mammogram center to teach you this information. Professionals are busy, they often do not have the time or may assume that we all read and understand our mammogram reports.
Be honest ladies, who does that?
I know I just wanted to hear that I was ok. I knew nothing about my breast density and what it meant for me. I assumed that, if something was wrong I would be notified……..And this is where the Educational Ball gets dropped.
It’s time to put on your “Big Girl Panties” - find out what your density is, what it means for you & advocate for the tests that best suit your breast tissue!
Charlie Erica Fall
CEF Thermography LLC
Advocate for AreYouDense.Org & MyDensityMatters.org
& Big Girl Panties from Rosie Made A Thing
