As a health technology leader, I build tools to save lives — but learning I have dense breasts made my work personal.
Jyoti Gupta, Ph.D.
President & CEO, Women’s Health & X-ray, GE HealthCare
As a longtime MedTech executive, I’ve spent my career building technologies that help detect and treat disease to save lives. But like so many working women, I often put my own health last. Between work, travel, and family, scheduling something like a mammogram can easily slip to the bottom of the list.
When I stepped into my new role leading Women’s Health at GE HealthCare, I was caring for a parent battling cancer in another country, navigating the demands of a new position, and was well overdue for my first screening mammogram. To better understand first-hand the technology my team helps bring to life, I took the opportunity to have my mammogram during my first customer visit. That’s when I learned something I didn’t expect: I have dense breasts.
Like nearly half of women in the United States, my breast tissue is made up of more fibroglandular tissue than fat — and that can make it harder to detect cancer, since both dense tissue and tumors appear white on a standard mammogram. When I asked about next steps, I was told we could do additional exams, but they weren’t necessary, and I should first check whether my insurance would cover them.
Women with extremely dense breasts face a four-to-six times higher risk of developing breast cancer than those with fatty tissue. Through my work, I‘ve heard countless stories of women whose cancers went undetected until it was too late, simply because their breast density was overlooked.
Innovating for early detection
At GE HealthCare, I’m intimately aware how advanced technologies are transforming what’s possible for early detection. Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS), a non-invasive, radiation-free screening technology, is designed to identify cancers in dense breasts that may otherwise be missed by mammography. Contrast-Enhanced Mammography (CEM), which combines digital mammography with an iodine-based contrast agent to highlight areas of increased blood flow, a characteristic of cancer, offers an affordable option for problem-solving inconclusive results, using the same mammography machine. For women at higher risk, MRI screening provides a detailed look of the breast tissue.
With all the innovations we’ve achieved in breast imaging — and knowing that dense breast tissue can both hide cancer and heighten risk — I was frustrated to learn that supplemental screening is still often treated as optional and may not be fully covered by insurance.
Shortly after losing my own parent to cancer, I sought to find deeper purpose in my work and decided to use my voice to advocate for women — pushing for stronger policies and better coverage at both the state and federal level for those with dense breasts and at higher risk. I also champion increased investment in women’s health, which includes conditions affecting women uniquely, differently, and disproportionately. At the first White House Conference on Women’s Health Research last year, I discussed the importance of investing in women’s health, and I continue to champion that work through the Milken Institute Women’s Health Network Steering Committee.
As a healthcare executive, my work is no longer about just advancing technology — it’s about ensuring awareness, access, and advocating for an ecosystem that truly supports women.
With 30 states having passed laws that eliminate patient cost-sharing for diagnostic and/or supplemental breast imaging, and our continued advocacy toward federal coverage, I envision a future where every woman has access to comprehensive screening.
Knowing you have dense breasts shouldn’t be a source of fear; it should be a source of empowerment. Schedule your mammogram and know your risk factors — your family history, your genetics, and your density — and don’t be afraid to ask your provider about supplemental screening. Because awareness, after all, is its own form of early detection.
