Imaging for Dense Breasts

Mammograms are 30-40% less sensitive in women with dense breast tissue, making it more difficult to see cancer. Fast Breast MRI doesn't replace your mammogram, but it is an extra screening tool for women with dense breast tissue who are at average risk. Chief of Breast Imaging Timothy B. Rooney, MD, explains more.

It's difficult to read a dense breast mammogram. And the dense breasts refers to the whitish parenchymal tissue that can hide underlying issues.

When a patient comes in for a diagnostic visit, it's important that they know that they will meet with or consult with a radiologist on-site. But that visit will be tailored, and it's one of the things that we do best is creative tailoring to an examination.

So if a woman receives this notice of dense breast tissue, what should she do? What should she think? What UVA is calling fast MRI— a 10 minute MRI exam, and a contrast-enhanced mammography exam. Those two examinations are really finding more cancers because they look for cancer in a different way.

When you come to UVA, you have academic radiologists who are breast specialists, and that's all they do. The more one practices, the more one has experience in a certain realm, the better one is at that practice.

And so at UVA, having a dynamic teaching program with learners who are pushing us, it doesn't just make us good teachers, it makes us better clinicians. Research that pushes us offers better technology and better care for our patients today.

[cherylanon]

they need to come up with a better screening tool for women with dense breast tissue, mammography just doesnt work, yet all the dr's and technicians are spouting the un-truth that mammography is the gold standard...yikes it is just not the gold std if you have dense breast tissue. In my area and with my insurance they will NOT cover anything but a screening mammogram, after that it is 100 percent my cost up to $9100 and that is not fair to charge women with dense breast tissue for an MRI when it's quite simply, not my fault I have dense tissues, the insurance shoudl be covering an MRI as a screening tool if that is the only way to screen for cancer. Wouldn't the insurance company really want to be finding a cancer sooner? I guess they are all about shifting costs onto the patient and who cares if they have cancer.

[swimsis]

All fluff. I went to UVA for a CEM and the techs were not able to place the IV. As a result I was not able to get the procedure. Waste of time and huge disappointment. The staff pretty much blamed me and stated I wasn’t “hydrated” enough for the iv placement 🙄 UVA needs to be more transparent about the procedure in order to ensure patients are adequately prepared. CEM is not able to be performed on every patient with breast density due to the type of IV used and that should be disclosed!