Join experts in breast cancer diagnostics who will explain the current imaging technologies and the importance of a woman’s breast tissue type in obtaining the most accurate screening. While knowing one’s genetics is helpful so is understanding one’s breast density — it can be vital in early detection that can save lives. Without this knowledge and access to the right imaging technology, the ability to find tumors in dense breasts can be like looking for a snowball in a snow storm. Impossible to find! This briefing will educate on breast imaging and early detection as well as on insurance coverage challenges for supplemental imaging technology for patients.

Breast Cancer Facts:

• 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer.
• An estimated 43,700 women in the US will die of breast cancer this year.
• Breast cancer is almost 100% survivable if caught early, but if caught late, a woman has only a 25% 5-year survival rate.
• Mammography misses up to 50% of breast cancers in women with dense breasts, meaning almost 300,000 women annually will be incorrectly told that they don’t have breast cancer, when they do.
• Women with dense breasts are at higher risk for breast cancer and cancer mortality.
  • 71% of breast cancer occurs in dense breasts
  • Having dense breasts is a bigger risk factor than family history.
• More cancers are missed in women with dense breasts, who tend to be younger (30-60 years old), Black, Latina, or Asian.
• Imaging technologies exist to detect cancer in dense breasts but are often unavailable because insurance will not cover it, and out-of-pocket costs can be significant.
• Lack of insurance coverage makes physicians reluctant to offer patients these imaging technologies as options.
• Providing access to women to the right supplemental screening tool for their breast type can enable the earlier detection of breast cancer.