Governor Cuomo passes law re. Breast Density

Governor Cuomo has signed into law that women need to be notified that they have dense breast tissue, as seen on mammogram.  Quite honestly, I have no idea why this needs to be a law.  The medical issue at hand here is that if a woman has dense breasts, a mammogram may be less effective at finding a breast cancer.  In the case of dense breast tissue, a breast ultrasound would be performed in order to maximize the ability to see the breast clearly.  This is, by the way, common practice and the standard of care for most radiology departments. For regular risk women, a routine breast MRI is a bad idea, because it will lead to a lot more breast biopsies that will turn out to be nothing.  So the take home message for women is to get annual mammograms starting at the age of 40 and ultrasounds if they have been told by their health care professional that they have dense breasts. I still do not understand why this was made a law.

read press release re. Cuomo Breast Density Bill 

Tara Allmen, MD Credentials:
– Board Certified Gynecologist and Nationally Certified Menopause Practitioner
– New York City’s Leading Expert In Menopause
– President, North American Menopause Society Foundation
– Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
– New York City’s Top Gynecologist, 2015
– Five Star Rating From Doctor’s Choice Awards
– Five Star Rating From HealthGrades