Today in Breast Density: NY State Senator Seeks Coverage for Adjunctive Screenings

In New York, a pair of state legislatorss held a press conference today stumping for mandatory insurance coverage for adjunctive breast cancer screenings, reports the Albany Times Union. State Senator John Flanagan (R-Long Island) and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Rockland County said that traditional mammography is insufficient for dense-breasted women, for whom the cancer risk more than quadruples. They also facilitated testimony from JoAnn Pushkin, executive director of Are You Dense Advocacy, a group that continues to lobby for state and federal legislation in support of dense-breasted women. The conference is part of an ongoing national conversation about the issue; earlier this week, a pair of studies about the recommended frequency of preventive breast imaging for women in their 40s made headlines nationwide, as reported on NPR.