CA Breast Density Legislation Passes State Senate

California’s breast density legislation took another step forward this week, as it was passed unanimously (39-0) by the state Senate. Bill 1538, the signature legislation of State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), would require mammogram providers to notify women if they have dense breast tissue, inform them that dense tissue “can obscure abnormalities (i.e., cancer) on a mammogram,” and offer to discuss adjunctive imaging studies.As a press release from Simitian indicates, three states—Connecticut, Texas, and Virginia—have already passed breast density legislation, and related laws are pending in 15 others as well as in the U.S. Congress.