Katie Couric’s Breast Cancer Diagnosis
nytimes.comTo the Editor: Re “Katie Couric Talks About Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis” (nytimes.com, Sept. 28): Bravo to Katie Couric not only for sharing her breast cancer diagnosis, but also for raising awareness about breast density, which is an independent risk factor for developing breast cancer.
Women with dense breasts have a higher incidence of breast cancer. Compounding this increased risk is the fact that mammograms of dense breasts — breasts with a higher proportion of fibroglandular tissue compared with fatty tissue — are less effective at identifying cancers because the dense tissue can obscure signs of breast cancer and lower the sensitivity of the image.
In 2018 the Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer helped to pass a Washington, D.C., law requiring health care facilities to provide mammography results, including patients’ breast tissue classification, to patients.
The law also requires insurance coverage for essential screenings beyond mammograms — such as ultrasound — that women with dense breasts and other risk factors need to diagnose their breast cancer.
