Are You Dense, Inc. and Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc. commissioned this survey of U.S. women to determine their knowledge about dense breast tissue and its masking of and risk factor for breast cancer, their preferences on learning about their dense breast tissue status after having a mammogram and as a result of notification, whether or not they had subsequent conversations with providers about supplemental screening.

The survey, conducted in February 2018, included 1,500 women in all 50 states, between 40 and 74 years old, who had a mammogram within the past two years. Survey results were compared across five groups based on law details and between women residing in states with laws versus without laws. While the majority of women in each of the sample groups were white, there was representation of minority women in each of the groups.


Science for decades has demonstrated that dense breast tissue is associated with a higher-than-average risk of breast cancer and that dense breast tissue can mask cancers on mammograms, making them impossible to detect. Adjunct screening to mammography, such as ultrasound and MRI, significantly increase detection of early cancers in dense breasts.

Dr. Cappello launched the legislative action of her organizations after being diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer in 2004 despite decades of normal mammography results. None of Dr. Cappello’s physicians told her that she had dense breast tissue, which had hidden the growing cancer in her breast, and none advised her to get adjunct screening.

Adds Dr. Cappello, “Today’s study results further support our relentless mission to reduce missed, delayed and advanced stage breast cancer by increasing access to early detection for women with dense breasts leading to reduced harms from aggressive treatments and better survival outcomes.”

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About Are You Dense, Inc. and Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc.
Nancy Cappello, Ph.D. is director and founder of Are You Dense, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity and Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc., a 501(c)(4) public charity. Dr. Cappello is the architect of using legislative efforts to standardize the communication of breast density to patients through the patient's mammography reporting results, starting with her state of Connecticut in 2009. Alongside patients turned advocates, Dr. Cappello has visited with and testified before state legislatures, in addition to the MQSA committee of the FDA and led efforts for the introduction of a federal bill in both the House and Senate. She had shared her story at medical and patient-centered conferences across the country and the globe. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including being named a health hero by Parade Magazine and honored for her health advocacy by the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.

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