🎀Dense breasts: what you need to know Check your mammogram report to see if you have heterogeneously or extremely dense breasts. Up to 50% of women fall into this category — and dense breast tissue can make cancers harder to detect and is now recognized as an independent risk factor for breast cancer. If you have dense breasts, talk to your provider about: •Whether you need additional imaging (ultrasound or MRI) • How often you should have clinical breast exams • Your overall breast cancer risk