A patient smiling during a mammography procedure (Image: Getty)
A top radiologist has penned a New Year’s resolution ‘breast cancer checklist’ for Daily Express readers – warning 13 per cent of women will experience it in their lifetime.
Screening for breast, bowel and cervical cancer saves over 5,000 UK lives a year with breast cancer survival rates above 99 per cent if caught quick enough.
But it’s feared 40 per cent of women aged 40-plus have ‘dense breasts’ that increase the risk of developing cancer while also masking tumours during a mammograms.
Data from breast cancer detection firm Micrima reveals that 86 per cent of women in the UK do not know their breast density, despite it being a cancer risk factor.
Micrima has developed a device called Mi-Scan which it says can “analyse breast tissue quickly, painlessly, and without ionising radiation or the need for a hospital visit”.
Now for New Year, radiologist Dr Nisha Sharma – clinical lead of Leeds NHS Foundation Trust Breast Services and Micrima Clinical Advisory Board chair – has created five tips for women to take control of their breast health 2025.
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Dr Sharma told us: “Dense breast tissue appears white on mammograms, which can mask potential tumours (also white), therefore reducing mammogram effectiveness.
“It’s important to note that dense breasts are only one factor that increases breast cancer risk, and having dense breasts doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get breast cancer.
“The NHS website does state that women may be told their breast density following a mammogram.
“However, In England, the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHS BSP) does not currently include/mandate the assessment or recording of breast density on screening mammograms.”
Mammograms are currently the most reliable way of detecting the disease and save around 1,300 lives each year.
But for women with dense breasts – a higher amount of fibrous or glandular tissue compared to fat – the images are harder to analyse, meaning cancer can go undetected.
Other countries such as Austria, Croatia, France and Spain, offer ultrasound screening as an add-on for women with dense breasts.
Cheryl Cruwys, of Breast Density Matters UK, said she was optimistic progress is being made on this issue, but added: “The issue we have at the moment is breast density is not routinely collected, assessed, recorded (or) reported.”
Cancer Research UK is undertaking a study on dense breast screening. Their health information manager Maxine Lenza recently said: “Having denser breasts does increase the risk of cancer, but it’s not something we can check for ourselves.
“We need to make sure our NHS is properly supported to diagnose women with breast cancer quickly, and Cancer Research UK is looking into ways to improve diagnosis for women with dense breasts.”
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Micrima’s Mi-Scan claims to “analyse breast tissue quickly, painlessly, and without ionising radiation or the need for a hospital visit”.
Micrima chief executive, Adrian Waller, said: “If we can indicate breast tissue properties up front, you can just deliver a much more efficient, personalised pathway for women.”
Mr Waller said Micrima was working to develop a tool that can identify women with high breast density, to “encourage those to enter the high-risk screening pathways”.
EXCLUSIVE – DR SHARMA’S TOP FIVE TIPS:
Breast cancer survivor Clare Cowhig (Image: handout)
By Chris Riches
Radiologist Dr Nisha Sharma – clinical lead of Leeds NHS Foundation Trust Breast Services and Micrima Clinical Advisory Board chair – has created a top five checklist for women to do as a New Year resolution for 2025.
1. Understand your risk:
“Some breast cancer risks are unavoidable, such as getting older – most breast cancers occur in women over 50 and it is less common in women under 40.
“A family history of breast cancer and inherited gene faults can also increase risk. Additionally, dense breasts are also a risk factor as they contain more fibroglandular tissue (where breast cancer often starts).
“Other breast cancer risk factors can be managed by prioritising a healthy lifestyle. For example, women who are overweight after their menopause have a higher risk of breast cancer than women who are not overweight.”
2. Check your breasts:
“Women should carry out monthly self-examination techniques, such as a visual inspection in the mirror to check for skin changes, dimpling, asymmetry and unexplained breast size/shape changes. Other symptoms to monitor include breast/nipple pain and nipple discharge.
“A systematic hand examination of each breast can also help detect any new lumps or thickening. This can be carried out comfortably by lying on your back with a pillow under your right shoulder and your right arm behind your head.
“You should then feel around each breast in a circular motion, using a mix of light and firmer pressure. This should also be done under each armpit and over your nipple.”
3. Go to your GP:
“If you have any worries after reading up on risk factors or following a self-examination, you should arrange a visit to your GP.
“They can then conduct a thorough evaluation and discuss your individual risk profile in more detail. Following this, they may recommend that you are given more personalised breast health checks. This could include alternative screening methods, a genetic risk assessment and individual risk calculation tools.”
4. Never miss a mammogram:
“A mammogram is a brief, specialised X-ray of the breasts which is used to detect early signs of breast cancer. The NHS breast screening program invites women aged 50-70 to attend a mammogram every three years.
“However, women who are at higher risk of developing breast cancer may be encouraged to attend mammograms annually. It’s crucial to never miss a mammogram, to increase chances of early detection and diagnosis.”
5. Ask for your breast density reading with your results:
“Breast density is a measure of the relative amount of glandular and fibrous tissue in the breast compared to fatty tissue and can be categorised into four groups: A (low tissue density, almost entirely fatty), B (low-mid tissue density, scattered areas of density), C (mid-high tissue density, heterogeneously dense breasts) and D (high tissue density, extremely dense breasts).”
EXCLUSIVE CASE STUDY – CLARE COWHIG
Clare battled bravely through breast cancer (Image: handout)
The density of Clare Cowhig’s breast tissue led to late diagnosis of cancer, and aggressive treatment she believes she might not have needed.
Clare, 56, insists women be told about breast density during mammograms, to empower them to push for further tests.
The retired teacher, of Portsmouth, Hants, said she was sharing her story to help others, adding: I don’t want anyone else going through what I went through. Six years ago, aged 50, I was concerned about an unusual area on my breast.
“Although it was nine months after my last clear mammogram, I booked a private ultrasound.
“I was told by the sonographer I had ‘the densest breasts’ they had ever seen and was questioned about why I hadn’t been having MRIs, due to the reduced sensitivity of mammography to find tumours in dense breasts.
“Despite my significant family history of breast cancer, and having had mammograms annually since I was 41, I had no idea I had dense breasts, or why that was significant.
“Unfortunately, after further investigation, it was confirmed I had an invasive ductal cancer in each breast. These tumours never showed up on earlier mammograms.
“One tumour was stage-three and over five centimetres, the other was stage two and two centimetres. I had further areas of ‘in-situ’ disease in both.
“I requested my hospital records, discovered my dense breast tissue had been noted after each of my annual mammograms, yet this information was never shared with me.
“If I had been told about my dense breasts, I would have sought additional screening. I believe my tumours could have been found at a smaller and less advanced stage and I wouldn’t have had to endure such extensive treatment, including a double mastectomy.
“We need new technologies more effective at picking up tumours in dense breast tissues and I welcome any innovation and developments.”