Being told one has dense breasts is another source of psychological harm. Awareness of dense breast tissue can trigger anxiety and heightened perception of cancer risk, especially among women with lower health literacy or those from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. Many women misunderstand what “dense breasts” mean, leading to confusion, worry, and increased pressure to pursue additional screening.

Underlying much of this distress is “cancerphobia”, the culturally ingrained fear of a cancer diagnosis. Even when cancers are low-risk or non-threatening—such as DCIS —the presence of the word “cancer” in a diagnosis can drive patients to choose aggressive and risky treatments unnecessarily, causing harm that far exceeds the small number of lives saved. Together, these factors illustrate that the emotional and psychological costs of breast screening and overdiagnosis are substantial, affecting thousands of women annually. In today’s patient-centered care environment, individuals are increasingly involved in medical decisions. Studies show that patients often favor aggressive treatments—even when the risks outweigh the benefits. A 2005 study in Medical Decision Making, titled “Cure Me Even If It Kills Me,” found that people presented with hypothetical cancer diagnoses chose surgery despite being told it could cause more harm than good. This tendency highlights the psychological influence of fear and risk perception on treatment choices, particularly for conditions like DCIS.

Recent evidence from the COMET trial further highlights the emotional impact of the cancer label itself. The study, published in JAMA Oncology, found that quality of life—across physical, emotional, and psychological well-being—was similar over two years for women with low-risk DCIS, whether they underwent surgery or were monitored (COMET study, JAMA Oncology). A critical insight is that once a patient is told they have “cancer,” anxiety and distress often follow, regardless of treatment choice. This emotional burden can strongly influence patients toward more aggressive treatment, even when their clinical risk is low. The study suggests that the label itself may have as much impact on quality of life as the type of treatment.