00:00Jenny Edwards had no idea she had dense breasts until she was diagnosed with cancer.
00:09So as well as a tumour in my left breast I had two fibroadenomas which are other sorts of lumps but benign lumps.
00:16And in my right breast I had a cyst.
00:19A routine mammogram earlier this year showed irregularities.
00:23A 3D scan and ultrasound followed as did the news about her high breast density.
00:29I certainly wasn't aware.
00:31You know dense breasts it's harder to detect the lumps and tumours yourself.
00:35And even on the imaging it's not as obvious.
00:38So the second round of imaging is what made things much clearer.
00:41So very lucky.
00:42Breast density refers to a person's mix of breast tissue.
00:46Fatty tissue is transparent on a mammogram while dense tissue is opaque.
00:51The higher a person's breast density the higher their risk of developing cancer.
00:56And the harder it is to detect the disease if it develops.
01:00We know that maybe one in three women will have dense breasts.
01:05Breast cancer specialist John Boyages says it's vital women are aware of their own breast density.
01:11It's important that women are armed with that knowledge.
01:15There's no doubt about it.
01:17And it can save lives.
01:19Just last week BreastScreen Australia the government funded national cancer screening program changed its position statement on breast density.
01:28Its policy had been not to record or report it to patients.
01:33But now it recommends all women are informed in writing as part of routine screening.
01:38It's already standard practice in some parts of the country but not in the ACT yet.
01:45The timeline is hopefully early next year but could be towards the middle of next year.
01:51Jenny had surgery to remove the tumour and is now having radiation treatment.
01:56She considers herself one of the lucky ones.
01:59The outcomes are very good if you get it nice and early.
02:03A task made easier when women are well informed.
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