Great news for Texas women: as of January 2018, insurance providers in Texas are required to cover 3-D mammography with zero copay for women over the age of 35.
Not sure what 3-D mammography is or what that means for you? We’ll get to that in a minute. First, a public service announcement:
You’re a mom and you have no time to do anything for yourself, but you MUST make time to take care of yourself. The little people (and the big people) in your life want you to be around for a long, long time. So make time. Get a checkup and keep up with your health.
Next PSA: this is not meant to serve as medical advice or guidance. Please consult your physician for that, which means yes, go to your doctor (taking us back to the first PSA).
Now, back to mammograms. I realize it’s not October/Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast health, and your health in general, is something you should think about year-round. If you’ve already hit the big 4-0, an annual mammogram should be one thing on your long list of mom musts. And if you have a family history of breast cancer, then you definitely need to be proactive, perhaps earlier than age 40.
Think it’s something you can pass on? Even if you don’t have a family history of breast cancer, it’s not something to brush aside. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
One in eight. That’s 12 percent of women. And that means a high percentage of women will be the first in their family to be diagnosed. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and, sadly, the most common cause of death from cancer among Hispanic women. It’s also the second most common cause of death from cancer in white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.
And if you have a family history of breast cancer, you shouldn’t wait until you’re 40 to get checked out. The rule of thumb is that you should start getting screened 10 years earlier than when your family member was diagnosed with breast cancer, but really—consult with your doctor to make the determination that’s right for you.
I am on the downhill side of 40, and an annual mammogram is something I check off my list, even though I have no history of breast cancer. In the span of one year, three women I knew were diagnosed. One was older, one was my age, and one was younger. So, that one-in-eight concept? Yeah, sitting with those women, that was three of eight—and scary. Each diagnosis caught me by surprise and strengthened my resolve to stay on top of my breast health. (By the way, all three women found their cancers early, received treatment, and are healthy/thriving testaments as to why early detection works.)
What is 3-D mammography, and why is Texas requiring insurers to cover it? Despite the cool-sounding, special effects name, 3-D mammograms will not make your breasts seem as if they’re jumping out of a screen. It’s new technology that is helping with early detection, giving women the opportunity to discover—and treat—breast cancer earlier. If that sounds scary, think of it this way: earlier detection means cancer is more curable. As scary as it is to find something, it’s an easier cure: less invasive, less extensive treatment.
The medical term for 3-D mammography is Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, also called DBT or tomo. DBT creates a three-dimensional picture of the breast using X-rays. Several low-dose images from different angles around the breast are used to create a 3-D picture, versus a conventional mammogram that creates a single two-dimensional image from two X-ray images of each breast. Think of a loaf of bread: you can’t see what’s inside, but when you slice into it, you can see more. 3-D mammography is like taking pictures in slices versus taking a picture from just the outside. Images are taken at two-millimeter intervals, “slicing” into the breast to give a clearer picture of what’s going on inside.
That’s especially important for women with dense breast tissue. Breast density is a measure used to describe the proportion of the different tissues that make up a woman’s breasts. It’s not a measure of how your breasts feel, but rather, how breasts look on a mammogram. Mammograms of dense breasts are harder to read, which means that it can be harder to detect breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue.
Unfortunately, the fibrous tissues of the breast have the same density of cancer, so it can be missed. That’s where 3-D mammograms can play a role: they can increase the chances of finding cancer. And that’s why Texas has decided it’s important to have them fully covered by insurance.
If you don’t know the density of your breast tissue, you should. Texas law requires that mammography providers notify all women with dense breast tissue that the accuracy of their mammograms is less than that of women with lower breast density and that they may benefit from supplemental screening.
To comply with that law, many mammography providers send a letter to patients detailing their breast density. If you don’t know, you can also ask your doctor to confirm your results for you.
Why it’s so important to know: Research suggests that women with dense breast tissue are more likely to get breast cancer than women with low breast density. Breast density is classified into four categories and rated on a scale of A to D. Category A means almost entirely fatty, indicating that the breasts are nearly completely composed of fat. Category D means extremely dense breast tissue.
By the way, having fatty breast tissue has nothing to do with your weight. You can be any body type and have fatty breast tissue or dense breast tissue. Fatty tissue is just easier to see through than dense breasts, which have more connective tissue and fibrous tissue.
If your breast tissue falls into Category C or D, it’s recommended that you receive supplemental screening such as 3-D mammography, ultrasound, or an MRI. Several studies have found that 3-D mammograms find more cancers than traditional 2-D mammograms and can also reduce the number of false positives.
So, no matter what your age, make sure you’re doing the right thing for you. Make time to keep up with your health and consult your doctor on what mammogram is best for your breast tissue. If you don’t have an immediate family history of breast cancer, start getting annual mammograms at age 40. If you have an immediate family history of breast cancer, then begin 10 years prior to the age that family member was diagnosed. And no matter what, do them annually so you know if anything changes and can address it.
