High breast density is one factor linked with an increased risk of breast cancer.  It can also mask the visibility of cancers on a mammogram.

However, Breast Cancer Network Australia say ‘thousands of women across Australia are denied vital information about their breast density because of a lack of national reporting standards and publicly funded density measurement screening services’.

Although Breast Screen Australia doesn’t recommend recording breast density routinely, approximately 40 percent of women have dense breasts with 10 percent of those having extremely dense breasts.

One of those women is South Australian, Karen Gray, who’s been battling breast cancer for the last year. She says knowing her breast density saved her life.

Image: Pexels: Pavel Danilyuk

Produced By: Emma Wotzke

Featured In Story: Karen Gray – South Australian resident, living with breast cancer , Vicki Durston – Breast Cancer Network Australia Director of Policy and Advocacy Support Services , and

First aired on The Wire, Thursday 20 February 2025