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Legislators Consider Bill Requiring Dense Tissue Notification with Mammograms

lrc.state.ky.us

Women in Kentucky with so-called dense breast tissue would be notified of that under legislation before state lawmakers. The bill aims to improve early detection of breast cancer.

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard testimony saying 40 percent of women have dense breast tissue. It’s described as breasts with more of such tissue than fatty tissue. Bill Sponsor Jim Duplessi says these women are twice as likely to develop breast cancer.

Committee members last week heard from Kelly Bush of Elizabethtown who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014.

“If I have dense tissue, I just might have to be a little more diligent, and I have to be able to know that if there is something that ‘is it a little different’ I just need to be sure that I pursue that,” Bush said.

The House bill, now before the full Senate, would require notification for women who undergo standard mammograms. The notices would not be required for those who have 3-D digital exams.

Stu Johnson is a reporter/producer at WEKU in Lexington, Kentucky.
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