Screening mammography needs to inform women if their breasts are dense
65 Comments
M
Michelle Bernardo
12 years ago
Since hearing Mi-Jung Lee's story at CTV I question, if an ultrasound gives a clearer picture of problems, why isn't it the test that is done rather than a Mammograms? I know a couple of women that have had to follow up with various types of ultrasound testing. It seems to me this is doubling the tests when 1 type may suffice.
E
Erin
12 years ago
Featured
My mom just found a lump in her breast and went for a mammogram and the lump did not even show up. After a further ultrasound and biopsy, it turned out to be cancerous. Scary that women can feel safe using mammogram when it is clearly not an ideal screening tool for all women.
A
Anonymous
12 years ago
In 2011 I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, I too have dense breasts. I had 2 partial mastectomies, 5 lymph nodes removed (all negative) 17 rounds of Chemo and 21 days of radiation. Today 3 years later (at the end of April) I am cancer free. Thank you for starting this petition. .
K
korie bartsch
12 years ago
thank you so much for all your efforts! as a teenager I was front and centre with my mom through her breast cancer saga. it was missed and misdiagnosed and the treatment affected everyone in our family. there has to be a change in our medical system and, most often, the simplest solution is the best one!
M
Mark Husereau
12 years ago
Featured
Any argument against this is um-believable The cost to the person and their family in grief and suffering and other losses who develops this disease and society who has to pay for more advanced and invasive treatments is exponentially higher than adding a CT/US option to screening when required.
J
Jocelyne Shigehiro
12 years ago
Featured
I also have dense breasts and was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 1/2 years ago. I was lucky to have been followed since 1991 with regular mammograms as well as ultrasounds. My cancer was Stage 1 and I credit the ultrasounds for finding it at that stage.
C
Carol Ramage
12 years ago
I have very dense breasts and mammograms are extremely painful. Ultrasounds are epensive though and one must book them with a private clinic. :(
G
Grace Burns
12 years ago
Absolutely!
R
Richard Prosk
12 years ago
An important issue deserving everyone's attention...
C
Cheryl Leite
12 years ago
I am a CCS Volunteer and support your efforts fully.
T
Tracy
12 years ago
I am PreM, age 38 and have dense breasts. Not once has my doctor mentioned a Mammogram or even done a breast exam.
M
Mandy Green
12 years ago
Two months after my last mammogram, which came back clear, a swelling developed suddenly in one of my breasts. Through ultrasound and biopsies it was ultimately diagnosed as breast cancer. Fortunately for me this was caught very early but it has left me questioning what happened with the mammogram. Had I not have had the presenting symptom that I did, it would have gone undetected for some time. I have not been informed as to whether I have dense breast tissue but it will be a question for my Oncologist at the next visit. Thank you Elizabeth for bringing awareness around breast tissue density and mammograms.
M
Matthew Prosk
12 years ago
I am inspired by your strength Elizabeth and I am more than happy to sign my name to such an important petition.
N
Nancy Bryson
12 years ago
Elizabeth, I am a breast cancer survivor as well after receiving a double mastectomy. My cancer didn't appear on a mammogram either because my breasts were "dense". It was only after both my doctor and I were certain that we could both feel a lump, despite the mammogram indicating there was nothin to be alarmed about,did I then go and have a Ultrasound. Ta da...there it was. I encourage women though to have mammograms because I feel for the most part it will detect tumours in a lot of women. However, I also stress women to become familiar with their own breasts and do regular self examinations. At an early age and be taught how to do a proper self-examination (many women don't know how to do the proper proceedure). If you know your breasts well, the first sign of a change through self examination may be what detects the cancer in its early stage and can ultimately save your life. I believe most Canadian Cancer Society offices will have videos and reading material they can lend out to you that will teach you how to do a self-examination properly. It saved my life.
K
Kathleen Astbury
12 years ago
I wish someone had made Elizabeth aware of the difficulty with dense breasts. Her breast cancer has changed our lives.
D
Dr. Christine Wilson
12 years ago
I want to thank you for your concern and dedication to detecting breast cancer in women in BC. As Medical Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s screening mammography program I do want to clarify some facts however; currently, a breast density assessment from a mammogram is subjective, therefore the determination of breast density from a mammogram at this time could be questionable and could lead to a lot of unnecessary concern and follow-up. There is currently no policy regarding the reporting of dense breast tissue in Canada. Further studies are required to determine if additional screening tests are appropriate for women with increased breast density, including an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of additional testing. No screening test is perfect, and mammography is no exception. Factors like age or breast density can influence the look of breast tissue on a mammogram, making cancers more or less difficult to recognize. But many cancers are found on mammograms even if dense breast tissue is present. Mammograms are the screening test proven to reduce breast cancer deaths. Being “breast aware” is always an important component of breast health and any changes should be discussed with your health care provider right away. At the BC Cancer Agency we are already looking at ways to diagnosis women with dense breast tissue, and the effectiveness of different screening options if we can accurately identify those with dense breasts. In fact, we have a clinical trial that we hope to start this summer that is looking at a new 3D imaging technology called tomosynthesis for breast screening, which may be more effective at screening women with dense breast tissue. There are also some software tools currently under development to determine breast density that may prove to be much more accurate and reliable. We are watching these, and although they will require scientific validation prior to use, they could provide women with an accurate measure of breast density
P
Pat Wickham
12 years ago
Thank you Elizabeth for caring about others to help prevent woman from going through what you and so many others have done. I am so glad that things are finally looking up for you. You would make a great mother.
L
Lorraine Sopow
12 years ago
Full disclosure to the patient if their mammogram is nondiagnostic due to dense breast tissue is a must
J
Jayme Lepp
12 years ago
This just makes sense! Let's save lives!
M
marlene white
12 years ago
i will definately ask if I have dense breasts and thanks for telling go
Since hearing Mi-Jung Lee's story at CTV I question, if an ultrasound gives a clearer picture of problems, why isn't it the test that is done rather than a Mammograms? I know a couple of women that have had to follow up with various types of ultrasound testing. It seems to me this is doubling the tests when 1 type may suffice.
My mom just found a lump in her breast and went for a mammogram and the lump did not even show up. After a further ultrasound and biopsy, it turned out to be cancerous. Scary that women can feel safe using mammogram when it is clearly not an ideal screening tool for all women.
In 2011 I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, I too have dense breasts. I had 2 partial mastectomies, 5 lymph nodes removed (all negative) 17 rounds of Chemo and 21 days of radiation. Today 3 years later (at the end of April) I am cancer free. Thank you for starting this petition. .
thank you so much for all your efforts! as a teenager I was front and centre with my mom through her breast cancer saga. it was missed and misdiagnosed and the treatment affected everyone in our family. there has to be a change in our medical system and, most often, the simplest solution is the best one!
Any argument against this is um-believable The cost to the person and their family in grief and suffering and other losses who develops this disease and society who has to pay for more advanced and invasive treatments is exponentially higher than adding a CT/US option to screening when required.
I also have dense breasts and was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 1/2 years ago. I was lucky to have been followed since 1991 with regular mammograms as well as ultrasounds. My cancer was Stage 1 and I credit the ultrasounds for finding it at that stage.
I have very dense breasts and mammograms are extremely painful. Ultrasounds are epensive though and one must book them with a private clinic. :(
Absolutely!
An important issue deserving everyone's attention...
I am a CCS Volunteer and support your efforts fully.
I am PreM, age 38 and have dense breasts. Not once has my doctor mentioned a Mammogram or even done a breast exam.
Two months after my last mammogram, which came back clear, a swelling developed suddenly in one of my breasts. Through ultrasound and biopsies it was ultimately diagnosed as breast cancer. Fortunately for me this was caught very early but it has left me questioning what happened with the mammogram. Had I not have had the presenting symptom that I did, it would have gone undetected for some time. I have not been informed as to whether I have dense breast tissue but it will be a question for my Oncologist at the next visit. Thank you Elizabeth for bringing awareness around breast tissue density and mammograms.
I am inspired by your strength Elizabeth and I am more than happy to sign my name to such an important petition.
Elizabeth, I am a breast cancer survivor as well after receiving a double mastectomy. My cancer didn't appear on a mammogram either because my breasts were "dense". It was only after both my doctor and I were certain that we could both feel a lump, despite the mammogram indicating there was nothin to be alarmed about,did I then go and have a Ultrasound. Ta da...there it was. I encourage women though to have mammograms because I feel for the most part it will detect tumours in a lot of women. However, I also stress women to become familiar with their own breasts and do regular self examinations. At an early age and be taught how to do a proper self-examination (many women don't know how to do the proper proceedure). If you know your breasts well, the first sign of a change through self examination may be what detects the cancer in its early stage and can ultimately save your life. I believe most Canadian Cancer Society offices will have videos and reading material they can lend out to you that will teach you how to do a self-examination properly. It saved my life.
I wish someone had made Elizabeth aware of the difficulty with dense breasts. Her breast cancer has changed our lives.
I want to thank you for your concern and dedication to detecting breast cancer in women in BC. As Medical Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s screening mammography program I do want to clarify some facts however; currently, a breast density assessment from a mammogram is subjective, therefore the determination of breast density from a mammogram at this time could be questionable and could lead to a lot of unnecessary concern and follow-up. There is currently no policy regarding the reporting of dense breast tissue in Canada. Further studies are required to determine if additional screening tests are appropriate for women with increased breast density, including an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of additional testing. No screening test is perfect, and mammography is no exception. Factors like age or breast density can influence the look of breast tissue on a mammogram, making cancers more or less difficult to recognize. But many cancers are found on mammograms even if dense breast tissue is present. Mammograms are the screening test proven to reduce breast cancer deaths. Being “breast aware” is always an important component of breast health and any changes should be discussed with your health care provider right away. At the BC Cancer Agency we are already looking at ways to diagnosis women with dense breast tissue, and the effectiveness of different screening options if we can accurately identify those with dense breasts. In fact, we have a clinical trial that we hope to start this summer that is looking at a new 3D imaging technology called tomosynthesis for breast screening, which may be more effective at screening women with dense breast tissue. There are also some software tools currently under development to determine breast density that may prove to be much more accurate and reliable. We are watching these, and although they will require scientific validation prior to use, they could provide women with an accurate measure of breast density
Thank you Elizabeth for caring about others to help prevent woman from going through what you and so many others have done. I am so glad that things are finally looking up for you. You would make a great mother.
Full disclosure to the patient if their mammogram is nondiagnostic due to dense breast tissue is a must
This just makes sense! Let's save lives!
i will definately ask if I have dense breasts and thanks for telling go