Dense Breast Day urges radiology business leaders to build cancer awareness

Cancer advocates and Yale Medicine are urging radiology business professionals to raise awareness about the dangers of breast density Wednesday, Sept. 25, as part of a one-day social media campaign. 

The second annual Dense Breast Day is aimed at increasing public perception of the topic and its impact on breast cancer risk. 

“We must continue to educate women about the importance of breast density and what it means to their breast health," JoAnn Pushkin, executive director of DenseBreast-info, said in a prepared statement.  "Dense Breast Day is a way for breast imaging leaders, manufacturers, advocates and patients to come together and highlight this critical topic to help provide women an understanding of the implications of dense tissue and available screening options." 

Beginning in the morning and continuing throughout the day, both Yale Medicine and the Deer Park, New York-based nonprofit will post educational info on Twitter using the hashtag #DenseBreastDay. They’re encouraging radiology professionals and the general public to chime in with their own experiences. 

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia currently require some form of notification about breast density to patients. Proposed changes to the Mammography Quality Standards Act would further establish minimum notification standards. DenseBreast-info expects those standards, first published in March, to take effect in 2021. 

Imaging experts and medical reviewers first launched DenseBreast-info in 2015 with financial support from GE Healthcare, Volpara Solutions, Hologic Inc. and Siemens Healthineers, among others. Its website includes a slew of information on breast density for patients and providers, such as videos, brochures and continuing medical education opportunities. 

Marty Stempniak

Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic. 

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