Is Breast Ultrasound Right for You?

Breast ultrasound screening can help detect small breast cancers that mammograms might miss. Not all women need ultrasound screening for breast cancer, though. The Breast Center recommends breast ultrasound screening for women with dense breasts.

Women with dense breasts should consider Automated Breast Ultrasound Screening (ABUS)

Dense breast tissue is common. Almost half of American women (46 percent) have dense breast tissue.

Having dense breasts increases a woman’s risk for developing breast cancer. It also makes it more difficult to detect breast cancers. Breast cancer appears white on a mammogram; dense breast tissue also appears white on a mammogram.

Breast ultrasound screening helps detect small breast cancers that mammography might not detect in women with dense breast tissue. Click To Tweet

In addition to annual screening mammograms starting at age 40, women with dense breast tissue should consider ultrasound screening for breast cancer. Research shows that combining mammography and ultrasound screening detects more cancers for women with dense breasts than mammograms alone.

Early detection is crucial for treating breast cancer — early detection saves lives. Finding cancer in its earliest stages, when it is small and most treatable, increases the chances of successful treatment.

How do you know if you have dense breast tissue?

You won’t know if you have dense breasts unless you get a mammogram. A breast radiologist can identify dense breasts from a mammogram; mammography clearly shows whether or not a woman has dense breast tissue.

If you get a mammogram at The Breast Center, our radiologists will inform you if you have dense breasts with your mammogram results.

The Breast Center is an accredited Breast Imaging Center of Excellence serving all of Northwest Arkansas with locations in Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Harrison.

Talk to the breast imaging specialists at The Breast Center to see if Automated Breast Ultrasound Screening is right for you. ABUS is covered by most insurance plans in Arkansas.

Call 479-442-6266 to request an appointment, or request an appointment with The Breast Center online.