U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro was at Griffin Hospital in Derby Friday to build support for a proposed federal law that would compel medical personnel to give breast density information to women after they receive a mammogram.
Women with dense breast tissue face a higher risk of breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
They are also more likely to have an inaccurate mammogram.
But there’s nothing on the books in the U.S. that says a radiologist has to share the data with a patient or discuss the fact women with dense breast tissue could benefit from additional screenings, such as an ultrasound or MRI.
Connecticut passed such a law in 2009, one of the first states to do so.
At a press conference, DeLauro and a cadre of doctors at Griffin Hospital, home to the Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness, said it is time for the entire U.S. to adopt the same standards.
DeLauro’s proposed the Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act.
Click here to read the bill’s text.
“By providing this simple piece of information, we can help women and their doctors make more informed decisions about their risks for developing breast cancer, helping improve their chances for early detection and survival,” DeLauro said.
She was joined by state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, D‑Woodbridge, Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel, Dr. Denise Barajas, medical director, The Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital, and Dr. Devika Jajoo, a radiologist.
Despite the correlation with cancer, breast density — which has nothing to do with the size or firmness of the breast — remains under the radar.
“Ninety five percent of women with dense breast tissue — approximately two-thirds of premenopausal women and one-quarter of post-menopausal – don’t know if they have dense breast tissue,” the Connecticut Health Investigative Team reported last year.
About 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 women die from the disease every year in the U.S., according to DeLauro’s office.
The proposed federal legislation could save lives, according to Dr. Barajas, the director of Griffin Hospital’s breast cancer center.
“It is so important to find cancers as early as possible because breast cancers diagnosed at stage 0 or 1 have relative five-year survival rates approaching 100 percent, while for cancers diagnosed at stage 3 that drops to 72 percent,” she said.
DeLauro’s bill has 31 co-sponsors in Congress.
