Cancers can be hidden or “masked” by dense tissue. On a mammogram, cancer is white. Normal dense tissue also appears white. If a cancer grows in an area of normal dense tissue, it can be hard or even impossible to see cancer on a mammogram.
It is like trying to see a snowball in a blizzard.
- If a cancer (white) develops in an area of fat (black or dark gray/grey), it is usually easy to see cancer even when it is small. The more fatty a breast is, the easier it is to see cancer on a mammogram.
- Dense breast tissue can hide cancers. The denser a breast is, the harder it is to see cancer on a mammogram.
Cancer on a Mammogram in a Fatty Breast vs. a Dense Breast
Learn More:
- 5 Facts Every Woman Should Know
- Video Series: Let’s Talk About Dense Breasts
- Patient Risk Checklist (print)
- Patient Questions and Answers