Breast Density & Breast Cancer Risk
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FORCE provides education and support to individuals and families facing hereditary breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, colorectal and endometrial cancers. FORCE advocates for awareness, access to care, and better treatment and prevention options for people with a personal or family history of cancer, Lynch syndrome, a BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, PALB2, CHEK2, PTEN or other inherited gene mutation linked to cancer.
I never missed a mammogram.
I was informed, proactive, and deeply involved in the breast cancer community for many years. I knew I had dense breasts, and I believed I was doing everything right.
So when I received my diagnosis, my first reaction was calm acceptance. Okay, I thought. We can deal with this.
It wasn’t until a conversation with my oncologist that everything changed. He asked me a question that stopped me cold: “How many mammograms did you miss?”
I hadn’t missed any.
That question made me go back and read my prior radiology reports, something I had never done before. Like so many women, I had trusted the summary line: “All clear.” I hadn’t looked deeper.
When I did, I saw it clearly written in the report. There was an area noted in my left breast at the 10 o’clock position. It showed a change in symmetry. The radiologist acknowledged it, but dismissed it as similar to previous images and took no further action.
Twelve months later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Thankfully, my cancer was caught early. It was DCIS, stage one. However, both my oncologist and other specialists told me it was likely already invasive by the time it was found.
My treatment included surgery, radiation, and endocrine therapy. The endocrine therapy has been challenging. I didn’t tolerate it well at first, and it took several medication changes to find something I could live with. I’m still on it today.
This experience taught me something I wish I had known sooner: a clear mammogram does not always mean “nothing is wrong,” especially for women with dense breasts.
Now, I read every report. I ask questions. And I share my story so other women know they should too.
Because awareness doesn’t stop at getting screened, it continues with understanding your results.
~ Fran Grega
“One year after a ‘normal’ mammogram, my mother was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. Dense breast tissue hid the cancer—and we didn’t know to look further.”
My mother, Irina, cannot share her story herself. She passed away at the age of 54, just three years ago. I am sharing it for her—because her experience holds a lesson that could save lives.
Irina was vibrant, energetic, and exceptionally healthy, with no family history of cancer. I don’t even remember her ever having a common cold. She followed medical recommendations, including annual mammograms, which she began at age 44. In 2013 and 2014, her mammograms were completely normal. With no symptoms and a clean history, she wasn’t anxious to schedule her next screening in 2015.
Then, without warning, everything changed. She was 47 when a radiologist noticed a “shadow” on her mammogram and recommended an ultrasound. That ultrasound revealed something no one had ever discussed with her before: she had extremely dense breast tissue. We later learned that dense breast tissue can mask cancer on mammograms and often requires supplemental screening.
The ultrasound also revealed a mass. A biopsy followed. The diagnosis was cancer.
Initially, the prognosis seemed hopeful. A lumpectomy was recommended, but my mother chose a double mastectomy for peace of mind. During surgery, the reality became clear. The tumor was far larger and more aggressive than expected. Lymph nodes were heavily involved. A PET scan soon confirmed widespread metastatic disease in her bones.
Just one year earlier, her mammogram had been normal.
In 2015, she was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer.
Her oncologist was honest: he could not save her life, only extend it. A newly approved drug, Ibrance, gave us precious time. For three years, the cancer remained stable, and my mother lived well. But eventually, the disease progressed. Treatment after treatment followed, each offering diminishing returns. Chemotherapy brought exhaustion, hair loss, and countless side effects.
Still, we hoped. We believed science would deliver another breakthrough. We fought for time, guided by my mother’s words: “You can overcome any obstacle—but you have to live to reach it.”
Seven and a half years after diagnosis, we lost the battle.
Today, we know that ultrasound is more effective than mammography alone for detecting cancer in dense breast tissue. Both dense tissue and tumors appear white on a mammogram, making early detection difficult. Raising awareness about breast density and expanding access to supplemental screening can catch cancer earlier—when outcomes are better.
My mother’s story is not unique. Cancer is increasingly affecting young, healthy people. Awareness is the first step toward changing that.
~ Irina’s daughter, Sasha
Know your breast density. Ask about supplemental screening. Share this story.
If you or someone you love has dense breast tissue, mammography alone may not be enough. Ultrasound and other supplemental screening tools can detect cancers that mammograms miss.
Talk to your healthcare provider. Ask what your breast density is. Advocate for appropriate screening. And help spread awareness—because earlier detection can change outcomes, and no family should learn this lesson too late.
If this story resonated with you, consider sharing your own. Stories create awareness, and awareness saves lives.
My name is Michele Young, founder of the Pink Eraser Project. Seven years ago, my world stopped when I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, after years of being told my mammograms were clear. My doctor once called it “a moral crime.” She was right. We have the technology to find cancers earlier, but we aren’t using it for everyone.
Thirty years ago, all across the world (including the U.S.) we decided it wasn’t right to let women die when we had the medical equipment to detect breast cancer early enough to save their lives.
So we had mammograms, free mammograms. Every state in our nation, and all across the world, you’ll find laws requiring them.
But by 2008, new science began to emerge. By 2014, there was no question in the mind of any radiologist in this nation that dense breasts had to be treated differently. That for close to 50% of women, cancers would be missed, like mine.
Activists started to seek help. Most of them are gone now, and many of the bills are named for them. I’ve been involved with HB 371 and I don’t know where HB 271 will be, maybe that will become the memorial bill.
As we traveled around the nation trying to change things, our mission remained the same: to end breast cancer by finding it early. We know dense breasts must be screened differently, and that we can find breast cancer early with today’s technology. Yet we’re still leaving out half of women, and we’re still not willing to pass the national legislation that’s necessary.
I’ve been fighting on the state level for years, and thank God for the legislators, the media, and Representative Jean Schmidt for never giving up on this battle.
But medical insurance has changed. Traditional coverage now applies to maybe 20% of people in our state, 30% in New York, very little in Maryland. Most families can’t afford traditional insurance. So when a woman needs additional screening, she’s often forced to choose between paying for her child’s lunch, bus fare, tutor, or getting the test she knows she needs.
Unless we fix this nationally, more and more people will die of breast cancer, not because we lack technology, but because we’ve priced early detection out of reach.
That’s why I’m here with My Density Matters today, to reach a larger audience and push for change. It’s too late for me, and for so many others, but it’s not too late to save the next 50,000 or 60,000 women who will die if we don’t act.
Just as we once did with mammograms, it’s time to update the law to match today’s science.
I’m asking you, as a mother of five, a future grandmother, and a lifelong civic activist to free up the potential of one in eight women, and get this done before another life is lost.
~ Michele Young
When I had my first mammogram in 2021, the results came back clear. The only note was: “You have dense breasts.” No one explained what that meant or what I should do with that information. I left reassured and didn’t think twice.
A year later, in 2022, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, three tumors, including one invisible on imaging.
I’ve since learned what I wish I’d known then. “Dense breasts” isn’t about size or shape, it’s about tissue. Breasts are made of fat, glandular tissue, and connective tissue. If you have more glandular and connective tissue than fat, your breasts are considered dense. On a mammogram, dense tissue looks white. Tumors also look white. That means cancers can hide.
Dense tissue is also associated with a higher risk of breast cancer.
Here’s another thing: you can’t feel density yourself. The only way to know is through a mammogram report. And as of 2023, the FDA requires all mammography centers to tell patients whether their breasts are dense or not. But too often, women walk away without understanding what it means.
When I first saw that line on my report, I wish my doctor had explained it in plain language: “Dense breast tissue raises your risk, makes cancers harder to detect, and supplemental screening may be worth discussing.” Instead, I walked out reassured, without knowing that more than half of women under 50 have dense breasts, or that insurance coverage for additional screening can be complicated.
Looking back, I wish I had someone to advocate for me, someone who would have encouraged me to ask questions instead of just nodding and leaving. That’s why I’m speaking up now.
Because “dense breasts” shouldn’t be a throwaway line on a medical form. Women deserve to know what it means, what questions to ask and how it may affect their care.
~ Claudia De Pasquale
My husband worked for Providence Heath and Services, so we had great insurance, and I always got the routine and preventive care as recommended, in all areas of my health, including mammograms. I’d noticed some changes in my left breast, but nothing really concerning, no lumps, just an overall thickening which I put off as hormonal, as I’d had a baby at 45 and then went quickly into perimenopause, so there was plenty of new going on in my body.
Shortly after booking my routine mammogram for spring of 2024, my husband, who was a hospital chaplain, had a metastatic breast cancer patient in his care who urgently asked him if I had dense tissue, and encouraged him to look into the My Density Matters organization. He did, he signed me up for the emails and let me know about his encounter with this dear woman. As a result of looking into the screening info linked in the email I received, I started to wonder if the thickening I felt might be more concerning than I had previously thought.
I booked an urgent appointment with women’s health care prior to my scheduled routine mammogram, and the physical exam they performed found that they thought it was worth pursuing, and this started me down the road toward my eventual diagnosis of Stage 2A breast cancer. I had a double mastectomy in June 2024, radiation following, and am now 16 months out from surgery and getting used to my new body.
It’s hard to overstate how dismaying it is to know you did what was recommended for years and still could have had a tumor growing to many centimeters, literally under your nose. I had no family history, no genetic predisposition, and had birthed and breastfed 3 children for a combined total of over 6 years. I didn’t even think to be concerned, but now I know so much more.
I am so grateful to this organization for giving me the info that led to me finding the cancer before it metastasized, and helping me have tools to advocate with other women for their own further screening options. I’d never been an advocate personality, but that has changed with my breast cancer experience. I’m looking forward to doing a presentation at the organization where I work with My Density Matters this November, and continuing to spread the word.
~ Anne Marie Jacob
My husband worked for Providence Heath and Services, so we had great insurance, and I always got the routine and preventive care as recommended, in all areas of my health, including mammograms. I’d noticed some changes in my left breast, but nothing really concerning, no lumps, just an overall thickening which I put off as hormonal, as I’d had a baby at 45 and then went quickly into perimenopause, so there was plenty of new going on in my body.
Shortly after booking my routine mammogram for spring of 2024, my husband, who was a hospital chaplain, had a metastatic breast cancer patient in his care who urgently asked him if I had dense tissue, and encouraged him to look into the My Density Matters organization. He did, he signed me up for the emails and let me know about his encounter with this dear woman. As a result of looking into the screening info linked in the email I received, I started to wonder if the thickening I felt might be more concerning than I had previously thought.
I booked an urgent appointment with women’s health care prior to my scheduled routine mammogram, and the physical exam they performed found that they thought it was worth pursuing, and this started me down the road toward my eventual diagnosis of Stage 2A breast cancer. I had a double mastectomy in June 2024, radiation following, and am now 16 months out from surgery and getting used to my new body.
It’s hard to overstate how dismaying it is to know you did what was recommended for years and still could have had a tumor growing to many centimeters, literally under your nose. I had no family history, no genetic predisposition, and had birthed and breastfed 3 children for a combined total of over 6 years. I didn’t even think to be concerned, but now I know so much more.
I am so grateful to this organization for giving me the info that led to me finding the cancer before it metastasized, and helping me have tools to advocate with other women for their own further screening options. I’d never been an advocate personality, but that has changed with my breast cancer experience. I’m looking forward to doing a presentation at the organization where I work with My Density Matters this November, and continuing to spread the word.
~ Anne Marie Jacob
In January 2018, I went in for a mammogram because I was having breastfeeding issues. My doctor just wanted to make sure it wasn’t an infection from mastitis. The mammogram came back “clear,” aside from the dense tissue they expected since I was breastfeeding. I eventually stopped nursing my daughter that May, and almost immediately, I started to feel off in even more ways: sick, tired, just not myself. I went through test after test with my general practitioner, but everything kept coming back normal. Eventually, I convinced myself this was just my new baseline: constant fatigue, constant sickness.
Then September came, and after a routine flu shot, I felt a sharp pain under my arm. That pain led me to find a lump in my armpit, and then another in my left breast. After going to my ob/gyn with these new findings, she ordered a mammogram and ultrasound. On October 31st, 2018, I was told the mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy that the radiologist was able to get done the same day as my scans showed that the breast cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes. I was stage 3.
~ Elizabeth Gramz
When I was first diagnosed, the cancer was found in my right breast. Through all the screenings and tests, my left breast was always labeled “healthy.” But I knew my body, and I knew I had dense breast tissue—a detail that felt more like a technicality on my mammogram report at the time, rather than a real risk factor.
Dense breast tissue doesn’t just make cancer harder to see on a mammogram; it actually increases your risk of developing breast cancer. No one explained what that really meant for me, or what my screening options were. I had to dig for those answers myself, and it was honestly terrifying.
Most doctors recommended a lumpectomy for my right breast. But my intuition—and everything I’d learned about my dense breast tissue—told me I needed to fight for a double mastectomy. It wasn’t easy. I had to advocate for myself every step of the way.
Four days after my surgery, my surgeon called and asked if I was sitting down. I’ll never forget her words: “It’s a good thing you listened to your intuition. Your left breast was loaded with cancer. Loaded.”
Bi-lateral breast cancer.
~ Lisa Malia Norman
Only limited data is available; only 1 study on 63 subjects from 2011: click to view more on the study.
COST & COVERAGE
Thermography, also called thermal imaging, uses a special camera to measure the temperature of the skin on the breast’s surface. It is non-invasive test that involves no radiation.
Thermography is based on two ideas:
• Because cancer cells are growing and multiplying very fast, blood flow and metabolism are higher in a cancer tumor.
• As blood flow and metabolism increase, skin temperature goes up.
Thermography has been available for several decades, but there is no evidence to show that it’s a good screening tool to detect breast cancer early, when the cancer is most treatable.
In November 2014 at age 46, I went dress shopping with my then 13-year-old daughter to find a dress for her bat mitzvah. We strolled into the gap for her to try on a few bras. I ended up trying one on, too, and I glanced down at my breast and noticed a visible tiny pea-sized “lump” and gasped out loud. To this day, my daughter said she doesn’t remember the gasp! Good job, mom!
“Hmph”, I thought to myself. “That’s odd, but surely not breast cancer because there is no family history, I am super healthy, run marathons, eat well, and who has a lump that is visible?” Later that night, I showed my husband my lump, and he, when he felt it, not only gasped but he jumped backwards as if to say, “What the heck is that?”
Anyway, pretty confident that it wasn’t cancer, I called my doctor and went in for a visit. She felt it and said it felt “superficial” – not exactly sure what that means, but it sounded good! However, she also noticed that my annual screening mammogram was due in about 3 weeks or so, but she suggested we move it up to be sure. At this point, I wasn’t worried at all. After all, I had started my annual screenings at age 40 and for the most part, there hadn’t been anything to worry about. However, looking back, when I first started getting screened, I was told I had calcifications and that I needed to be seen every 6 months. After about 2 years or so, I was back on the annual screening due to the fact that the radiologist determined they weren’t changing. Also, looking back, my mammogram report, per NC law, always mentioned that I had extremely dense breasts. But that seems more like a “don’t ask, don’t tell” kind of legal loophole. I didn’t ask about it and no one mentioned it.
So, back to November 2014… I went in the following week for my mammogram. After the mammogram, they called me back and said, “Everything looks fine on your mammogram, but since you have a suspicious area – let’s do an ultrasound.” Okay – so now I am feeling a little more nervous, but still confident that things would be okay. And that’s when the radiologist spent all of 2 minutes doing the ultrasound before he walked out and brought in his counterpart to share the news that I would need a biopsy. It was at that moment that my Dark Days began.
The following week I had my biopsy. And I had to wait 3 full days for the results. The longest, scariest days of my life. In hindsight, I learned that sometimes the “not knowing” is harder than knowing, but at that time, my mind raced to all kinds of scenarios. I am a mom to three beautiful daughters – who at the time were 13, 11 and 7.
After spending those 3 days in fetal position waiting, I finally got the call on a Friday afternoon at about 3:00 pm. Indeed it was breast cancer. Initially, it was DCIS, a very early (sometimes considered Stage 0) breast cancer. However, there was a “BUT.” Since I presented with a lump and had extremely dense breasts they needed to do additional testing to confirm it wasn’t “invasive.” Again, this point – I had no idea what invasive meant, but it didn’t sound good.
Over the next few weeks I had an MRI which showed more “enhancements.” Again – I didn’t know what that meant. So, I had a biopsy in my left breast (presumably the good one) and eventually an MRI guided biopsy on the right (the bad side). This showed something benign in the left (phew!) but MORE DCIS on the right. I was now told that instead of having a lumpectomy and radiation, I would now need a mastectomy on that side as whatever was there was too large for a lumpectomy. And all the while, there was always this talk about “there might be more invasive cancer.”
Finally on January 13, 2015 – a full 10 or so weeks after finding a lump which included at least 3 biopsies, 2-3 ultrasounds, 2 MRIs and a WHOLE LOT OF ANXIETY – I went in for the mastectomy which also included the sentinel node biopsy to see if any cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. About one week later, I got my results and it was good news/bad news. Good news being that the cancer had NOT spread to my lymph nodes, but bad news was – they were right – there was an invasive form of breast cancer that was very small but did require chemotherapy.
As it turned out, while I was waiting to heal from the surgery in order to start my chemotherapy, I received a call from my oncologist letting me know of a clinical trial that I could potentially participate in. I would be randomized to either the standard of care treatment or the new drug which was supposed to be less toxic to the patient but just as effective. So I opted in and got randomized to the test drug – called TDM1 – which was being used already with Stage 4 HER2+ breast cancer with great results. So I spent the next year (March 2015-Feb 2016) going to the cancer center every 3 weeks (17 times in total) to receive this chemotherapy. For me this chemo was very manageable and I was able to run the Boston Marathon after 3 of my treatments! I became a poster child at my cancer center for clinical trials.
There is a whole lot more to the story, but in short, I am still here 9 years after my very last treatment and almost 10 years after finding the lump that day.
The main part of my story that I still find hard to understand is that when I went in the very first time with my lump for my mammogram, the fact that “all looked fine” when there was about 8cm of DCIS is quite alarming to me. I believe we have to do more for women with dense breast tissue. I now understand more about how difficult it is to see anything on a mammogram with dense breasts. Perhaps the 3D mammogram is better (I did not have that at that time). And I know that because I was considered low risk, I never would have qualified for further diagnostics after a normal mammogram. Had that visible lump not reared itself on that day shopping with my daughter, I may have gone in as scheduled about 3 weeks later, for my routine scheduled screening and walked out again with a paper that said “your mammogram is normal, HOWEVER because you have dense breasts we may not be able to see abnormalities, such as cancer” and I would have gone home with the good news as I had the previous 6 or so mammograms I had. Was the cancer there all along? Was that the “calcifications” they saw early on? I don’t know. But I do feel grateful that it was found; however, what do others do when they have dense breasts and no family history and no lump? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I hope my story can give some awareness to others.
And one last bit of frustration: my oncologist recommends that I have an MRI once a year because of my dense breast tissue. At this point in time, I am almost $4000 in debt for each of those tests because they are not considered preventative, and before my insurance company will reimburse me, I must meet a deductible. How is this helping anyone with dense breasts?
If you want to read more about my story, including the clinical trial I was in and how I ran the Boston Marathon on cancer treatment, please view this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-MPBXGo_mk
~ Amy Charney
I was at my annual mammogram when I was 50, and there was a new technician whom I had not met before. She was very thorough and took many more images than were previously taken at my other appointments. Afterwards, the hospital called me and asked me to come for a 3D-Mammogram and an ultrasound. Once they did the testing, the report came back with possible benign changes, and I was asked to come back in six months.
I had a bad feeling. I didn’t feel a lump or have any pain, but something wasn’t sitting right. During the ultrasound, I could see a round spot, which made me nervous. I have a nursing background, so I knew it didn’t look right. When I asked what it was, I didn’t get an answer. I called my Doctor and asked what he would have his wife do in my situation. He said, “I would have her get a breast MRI”.
At that time in 2002, I had to go to Lutheran General; that was the only hospital that had a breast MRI. The breast MRI report said “suspicion of malignant lesion.” From there, I had a biopsy, which found my cancer at Stage 0. After hearing my story, Northwest Community Hospital purchased a breast MRI.
Seven out of ten of my family members have tested positive for the Chek #2 Gene. We get tested every six months, alternating between mammograms and breast MRIs. Yes, I have dense breast tissue, just like the other women that tell their story.
~ Rose McHugh
In 2014, my routine mammogram results showed dense breast tissue. However, I noticed a lump in my breast that concerned me, so they agreed to complete the ultrasound the same day. They originally told me that they would have to send a request to insurance to schedule an ultrasound as additional testing. I knew that something was not right. The ultrasound revealed two small masses that hadn’t been visible on the mammogram, and I was subsequently diagnosed with Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.
This experience highlighted for me the importance of comprehensive breast cancer screening, especially for women with dense breast tissue. In my case, the ultrasound was crucial for detecting the cancer at an early stage, something the mammogram alone did not do. I feel fortunate that it was caught early, and I believe that including better testing in the screening process for all women could significantly improve early detection rates.
~ Sally Kutsor
I can’t remember the exact date I felt the lump, but it was probably 3-4 months before I was due for my annual mammogram. I’ve had cysts in my breasts, so of course I hoped it was another one of those. I was 42 years old in June 2024. This lump was much larger but I told myself “the mammogram is designed to find cancer super early. If last years test was normal and now I have a large mass, surely it can’t be cancer”. Right? I don’t want to be a hypochondriac so I let it go. I saw my primary doctor before my obgyn so she put in the order for the mammogram since I said I felt something – she never asked to feel it which bothers me to this day. I went for the mammogram and it said I had calcium deposits. After a quick google, phew! They are almost always benign. It justified that I felt something (but no, keep reading). They wanted a second mammogram. In talking to the tech performing the second mammogram I said “are the calcium deposits usually this big?” And she said “oh they’re like salt and pepper. You can’t feel them, only the mammogram sees them”. I said “but the lump is so big…” she said “your report says right here “no mass or lump seen”. Then we both looked at each other with that “oh ****” realization. She went away, came back, and said “they want to do an ultrasound”. The radiologist knew right away when she saw it on ultrasound. The tumor was 9 cm and spread into my lymph nodes.
If it wasn’t for me feeling a lump, I might not have gone for the second mammogram. My primary wasn’t concerned when she saw the report say calcium deposits (despite me saying “but I feel a lump”). It’s because I felt the lump that I kept asking. Then learning that the mammogram only saw microscopic sized calcium, but not a 9cm tumor is absolutely infuriating to me. If I didn’t keep using the word “lump”, the second mammogram would have been filed away and they’d want be back the following year.
Since my diagnosis I have asked multiple doctors for an explanation as to why I wasn’t recommended for additional screening due to my extremely dense tissue. The responses I got were:
“Mammogram is the standard of care. If we started recommending additional screening for women who have dense breasts, they’d have to pay out of pocket. Women will get angry they have to pay because the machine that’s free doesn’t screen their body”
“Most ultrasounds will yield negative results, because statistically most women don’t have cancer. So we would overwhelm the system with screening”
“If we tell women the mammogram is only 75% effective (cancer is missed 50% of the time in women who have dense breasts (50% of women)), it will decrease the public’s confidence in the testing. As a population we are finding more cancer with the mammogram than without so it’s still a beneficial test”. When I said “except for women like me who are the exception”, the doctor shrugged and acknowledged it is known that it misses detecting cancer in dense tissue.
These are horrifying responses. It is MY choice if I want to pay out of pocket for a test. It is MY right to know that a machine is less than 50% accurate for my body. Put a big sticker on the front of the machine!
My cancer was triple positive, so that means it grew fast. Would it have been found a year prior on an ultrasound if I had known about dense tissue and asked? No one can answer that.
I’m 43 now, and the cancer had spread into my lymphatic system. Even though my treatment was successful (18 weeks of chemo, surgery, 33 radiation treatments, and one year of Herceptin), I have to worry about it coming back. I’m being thrown into early menopause to decrease those chances. It’s all so unfair on my body. I am learning to accept that cancer falls from the sky. They don’t know why some women get it (with seemingly no risk factors, other than dense tissue), and others don’t. What makes me really angry is wondering if this could have been found earlier. My treatment would have been easier and my chances for recurrence would have been lower. I’m trying to learn to live without fear but I hate how unfair it all feels.
I will continue to fight and tell every woman I meet to demand additional screening if they have dense tissue, so that if cancer is there, it’s found as early as possible.
~ Elisabeth Beadell
As a breast radiologist, I know that access to supplemental screening and diagnostic exams is critical for early detection. Advocating for risk-appropriate screening and accessible diagnostic imaging has been a passion throughout my career. In the summer of 2023, my passion became personal when my screening mammogram was abnormal.
My story is a little different from others here. Before my breast cancer diagnosis, I was aware that my breast tissue was extremely dense, knew my lifetime risk was just greater than 20%, and had been undergoing supplemental screening with MRI. So it was with no fear that on a routine Monday, my colleague Kay and I had our annual screening mammogram party. For the past seven years, Kay and I would choose a July day when we were working together. When there was a break between patients, we’d have our mammograms done. She would read my mammogram and I would read hers.
That day, my mammogram had a new group of calcifications, which led to a stereotactic biopsy on Tuesday. The next morning, I was on the receiving end of a phone call I had made to women countless times over the years. Having been the one to explain the words did not prepare me to hear them said to me–invasive ductal carcinoma. That evening, my husband and I met with my friend, who was now also my breast surgeon. Having been detected at such a small size, I had choices when it came to surgery. My choice, along with a negative sentinel node biopsy, meant no radiation. I met with another friend and colleague in medical oncology and received the good news that my recurrence risk was low enough that there was no benefit to chemotherapy. So less than a month after my abnormal screening mammogram, with a prescription for endocrine therapy in hand, I was physically “done” with breast cancer. Mentally, it was a different story–a little cancer is still life-changing. Now, 18 months later, I have fewer intrusive thoughts of recurrence and I feel strong and healthy.
Not everyone can count their radiologist, surgeon, pathologist, and medical oncologist among their friends, and that’s okay. We are going to do our very best for every patient, no matter who you are. But it’s not okay that women do not have access to necessary supplemental screening tests! There are tools and technologies in place to detect breast cancer at its early and curable stages. We must make them available to all patients. Every woman with dense breasts should be able to have appropriate supplemental screening MRI or ultrasound in addition to her mammogram, without hesitation or delay due to out-of-pocket expenses. No one is ever “lucky” to have cancer, no matter how small, but my wish is that every patient with breast cancer could have the same experience I did, with the least invasive and life-disrupting treatment required.
~ Jennifer Bergin
I had my first mammogram at age 40, despite my doctor at the time telling me I could “wait if I wanted…” and that “not every woman gets her first mammogram right at 40.” Something told me I’d better get the test done anyway. When the report came back normal, I was relieved and moved on with life.
A year later, I went to a different facility, a well known medical center outside of Boston, to have my executive physical, which was a comprehensive annual exam, including a physical breast exam and a 3D mammogram done that same day. I had shared my first mammogram records with the facility so they could compare any year over year changes. I soon received a clean mammogram report once again. At the bottom of the letter I noticed a sentence indicating I had dense breast tissue and that I should talk with my provider about additional screening options. My provider never mentioned this to me, nor did I give this a second thought as breast cancer was not on my radar, I had no family history or reason to believe I should seek additional screening after just having a professional breast exam and the “gold standard” 3D mammogram.
Flash forward a few months later, we had just moved from Massachusetts to New York State with our 3 and 6 year old, to be closer to my family. In December of that year (6 months after my last mammogram) I started to experience a throbbing pain under my left arm, which worsened at night. I did a self breast exam and immediately noticed a large, hard mass on the outside of my left breast. I knew something was wrong, but held out hope it might be just a cyst. Given we were new to the area, I did not have an established relationship with a PCP or OBGYN, and it took several weeks to be seen by a local OBGYN office. During my visit, the NP did a breast exam and felt the same lump. She immediately ordered a mammogram and an ultrasound, which was scheduled very quickly. After several imaging tests and biopsies it was determined that I had multiple, cancerous tumors in my left breast and at least one cancerous lymph node, due to invasive ductal carcinoma.
The next two years were a blur…starting with 16 weeks of brutal chemotherapy, followed by a double amputation and full lymph node dissection, (which has since caused chronic lymphedema in my left arm), 5 weeks of daily radiation and multiple reconstructive surgeries. I take a daily hormone suppressing medication and monthly ovarian suppression shots to protect against recurrence (breast cancer has a high rate of recurrence), which come with a slew of nagging side effects.
I am grateful and blessed to be alive and well today, but not a day goes by that I am not reminded of cancer. I follow a protocol from a homeopathic provider to ensure optimal cell health to minimize my personal risk of recurrence. And to think much of this could have been avoided if my cancer was caught at its earliest stage, if I had just been ordered an ultrasound-a simple and affordable test- to accompany my mammogram.
After my diagnosis I sought a second opinion where the oncologist told me that the cancer was very likely present during my 3D mammogram screening, it’s just that the mammogram didn’t detect the tumors through my very dense breast tissue-this was a hard pill to swallow. No woman should have to play Russian roulette with their life, based on the state they live in and the standard of care of the screening facility, which varies greatly across the country. We need more thorough, consistent guidelines to protect all women from being blindsided with a later stage breast cancer diagnosis, there’s simply no humane excuse not to enhance women’s breast screening guidelines when we have the technology readily available.
My experience is one of many, the more stories we tell means being a victim to later stage breast cancer and all the suffering that comes with it is NOT in vain — we can effect change if we amplify our voices and demand better preventive care for all women.
~ Amy O’Neill
I began receiving mammograms at age 20 when living in Argentina. They had me get a mammogram at a young age because I would experience extreme breast pain before getting my period. My mammogram showed that I had extremely dense breast tissue.
I went to my ob-gyn for a routine visit. The nurse examined me first and felt something concerning. The Doctor ordered a mammogram and said I had three cysts that were not concerning. My mammograms showed consistency over time and there wasn’t anything to worry about.
The nurse called me at home and urged me to come back in for another exam. A mammogram and ultrasound were done again at the urging of the nurse and didn’t show any cancer. A breast MRI was completed, and no cancer was detected.
I urged the doctor to feel and look at the size of my lump which was now pronounced due to weight loss. When the doctor saw and felt my lump he did a biopsy which showed that I had stage 3 lobular breast cancer! The cancer was in three of my lymph nodes as well.
Bottom line — You must advocate for yourself. I didn’t back down because I knew something wasn’t right. My doctor said if I had waited even one additional month I would have been at stage 4. Losing weight was a blessing, the tumor came to the surface and was easily visible.
~ Veronica Mormino
In the beginning of 2015 I had a mammogram to explore a mass in my right breast. They said to come back in 6 months … that it was dense breast tissue. I came back 6 months later to find out why I now had a new bump on my nipple. At that time they did an ultrasound and said it was inconclusive!
What lead to my diagnosis, was when I came home from a trip in Jan. 2016 with lightning pain throughout my breast…OUCH!! I took it into my own hands, made an appt for OB and they sent me to get a biopsy. I was confused.
I was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer with 4 tumors while going through a divorce and had to have a double mastectomy. It was a blur after that…… my gut knew what might be happening. I KNEW!! IT WAS clear something was wrong. WHY didn’t I fight for more exploration last year when it was just 1 tumor? My head went into protection mode and I ignored the signs. Cancer wasn’t in my family.
Well today I am a 9 year thriver who continues to help others be aware! Always fight for your right to know! Ask the hard questions! Push for what you need. I am a huge promoter of My Density Matters! I want to help women advocate for themselves so they can find their cancer at the earliest stage possible.
~ Ilianna Fiorenza
It was just before dinner on November 16, 2023. A moment in time I’ll never forget. My breast surgeon called to say the three words nobody ever wants to hear, you have cancer. She told me I had been diagnosed with hormone receptor positive invasive ductal carcinoma. It was at that moment and in the days and weeks to come that I was hit with so many emotions, sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, helplessness — it was like the characters from the movie Inside Out were on overdrive in my head.
To back up in time, I was being followed by a breast surgeon for a year and a half prior to my cancer diagnosis due to having fibrocystic breasts. I had several mammograms and ultrasounds done over that time to monitor cysts in both breasts, to ensure they were benign. About a week before my October 2023 appointment with my breast surgeon, I did a self-exam and found a lump at the top of my left breast. I remember thinking it felt different than all the other lumps (cysts) I’d found up to that point. I told my breast surgeon, and she gave me the option to either biopsy or wait another six months for my next ultrasound, since it likely would be another cyst. I chose to do the biopsy. Because my breast tissue is extremely dense (type 4), my tissue bent the biopsy needle, and the radiologist was only able to retrieve a crushed sample. This left me with inconclusive results, so over the following month, I had an MRI with contrast and a surgical biopsy, which confirmed it was stage 1 breast cancer.
When I received my diagnosis, I was then faced with the hardest decision of my life — what type of surgery would I have. I needed surgery, but the choice was up to me. A lumpectomy with radiation, or a mastectomy. I did my research and met with all the doctors; my breast surgeon, plastic surgeon, two oncologists, and a radiologist. On January 22, 2024, I underwent a bilateral mastectomy. I will say, feeling fully informed made my decision easier — not that it was easy, but I had confidence and no regrets in what I decided. When I got my final pathology results back in late January, it showed pre-cancer cells in two different places in my left breast. I realized that if I hadn’t selected the surgery I did, I would have very likely had a recurrence. It can never be a 0% chance my breast cancer will come back, but it gives me solace to know I decreased my chances and made the right decision for myself and my body.
When I’m experiencing uncertainty in my life, I tend to look for quotes to reflect on situations I’m in. This one summed it up perfectly, “Cancer is a marathon – you can’t look at the finish line. You take it moment by moment, sometimes breath by breath, other times step by step.” (Karen Kockelman Schultz, Caring Bridge). Given the prolonged wait I experienced to confirm my diagnosis and complications I had from my bilateral mastectomy, this past year felt like running a marathon where my patience and perseverance were being tested at every mile marker. I was finally able to have breast reconstruction surgery on November 4, 2024, and after over a year, I am ready to take steps forward to get my life back to normal. Well, a new normal I’d call it, because after having breast cancer, life won’t ever be the same.
Shortly before my bilateral mastectomy, a friend who battled breast cancer several years back told me that I needed to give myself grace through this process. I remember thinking, what does that really mean to give yourself grace and how do I even do that? But now I understand. We may have tasks we need to complete, responsibilities to execute on, people to take care of in our lives, but we are also human. That means taking care of ourselves too. When we are hit with frustrating moments (which believe me, I had many in my diagnosis and recovery), it is ok to cry, get mad, punch a pillow, or scream out loud — but don’t let yourself get stuck. Give yourself grace to feel the emotions you are feeling; recognize them, even put a name to them. From there, recognize what you have control over and what you don’t — and don’t get stuck.
There is perspective and many life lessons I gained throughout my cancer journey. I learned for those who are passionate about their careers, putting your health and family first doesn’t take away from the dedication to your work responsibilities, commitment to your team and role, and the support you provide others. It became apparent to me that I needed to prioritize and set boundaries. I believe we can only be our best selves when we don’t let work consume us. Part of being our best selves has to do with stepping back and appreciating what we have in our lives and enjoying what we do and who we do it with. Having cancer brought me back to being present with my teenage daughter. Having lost her father to alcohol use disorder eight years ago, I am that “one and only” person there for her and have been for years. I’ll admit, before cancer, I was the workaholic who burned the candle at both ends and couldn’t be that person for my daughter. Last February, about three weeks into my medical leave, my daughter told me it was so great to have me around since I always seem consumed by work. Hearing those words, I knew something had to change, and I encourage you to do what I did. Prioritize (and re-prioritize), put your health and family first, know it’s ok to set boundaries, declare those to others, and don’t feel bad about it. We get one life; let’s remember to live it and take those special moments to do what makes us happy.
What cancer also gave me was education, and a lot of it. Sometimes mammograms are just not enough, especially for women who have dense breasts. I pushed to have a biopsy and throughout my cancer journey recognized how important it was to advocate for our health. My surgery decision was made easier because I felt fully informed to choose the path I wanted to take. I also tapped into my ‘pink sisters,’ friends who had past breast cancer diagnoses, and asked them, and continue to ask them, a boat load of questions. This is certainly not a club anyone wants to be in, but let me tell you, it is filled with absolutely amazing women. I would be remised if I didn’t call out the overwhelming amount of love and support I got and continue to get from my family, friends, and colleagues. Getting through what was the most difficult and emotional time in my life would have been so much harder without my support squad. I am beyond grateful to have each and every one of them in my life.
I only learned I had extremely dense breasts at the beginning of my cancer journey. Without doing my self-exam, my breast cancer likely would have been found at a later stage, which certainly would have changed the course of my cancer journey. If from my story, one person does a self-exam, one person pushes for supplementary screenings after their mammogram, one person asks additional questions of their physicians or does something else to advocate for their health — then putting myself out there and showing a level of vulnerability I never thought I would or could, will have been worth it a million times over. I truly am one of the lucky ones and constantly look for ways to help bring awareness and fight this disease. It’s not just the big things, but the little things we can do to show gratitude and support to the families who have lost loved ones, celebrate the survivors, and help detect breast cancers early when they are most treatable.
Four surgeries and two procedures, five months of physical therapy, estrogen blocker meds for five years, and an abundance of knowledge. I’ve made the choice to live life moment by moment, breath by breath, and step by step, and most importantly, living with the hope that five years from now I can officially say I am and have been cancer free.
~ Bethany Haskell
My name is Brigid and I’m a rule follower. I started getting mammograms at age 40. When they wanted me to return in 6 months, I did so without questions. That happened when I was 43 or 44 as they were checking on some calcifications. I also requested the 3D and digital mammograms when they became available. In 2015, I changed doctors and mammogram centers so I wasn’t too surprised when they wanted me back in 6 months, again checking those calcifications. So I had mammograms in February 2015, August 2015 and February 2016 when they said, “Ok, everything is stable. You can return to an annual schedule.”
That was good because my life was BUSY!! I have 4 kids and they were all living at home plus my father-in-law was living with us while going through treatment for esophageal cancer. We had our son attending a local community college, and then three girls, a senior and a freshman in high school and an 8th grader. In August, the two oldest moved out of state for college, one 8 hours away and the other half way across the country.
On September 8, I found a lump while doing a self-exam. I didn’t freak out because I knew I had clear mammograms. I followed what I was supposed to do. I decided to give it the weekend and, if it was still there, call the doctor on Monday. So, I had a mammogram on Tuesday and was sent immediately for an ultrasound as is protocol if someone finds a lump. The radiologist came in afterwards and told me that there was a mass and I would need a biopsy. She informed me that 80% of lumps were found to be benign and then said that she wanted another mammo. When I returned to the same tech, she asked if they had found anything on the ultrasound. She was surprised when I said, “Yes.” I recall thinking, “Didn’t she see it there on the mammogram earlier?”
Biopsy was 3 days later and then on September 19, I was called with the news of my diagnosis – stage 2B Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. My lump was 2.4 cm and the cancer had gone into the lymph node that was also biopsied. Those old calcifications that had been present for years were also biopsied and they were DCIS – Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (stage 0). Two days later, we met with my surgeon and the first thing he said was that the cancer had been growing in me for about 18 months. To which I replied, “But I had 3 mammograms in the last 18 months! How could they miss it?” He stated that I had DENSE BREAST TISSUE and that it makes finding cancer much harder.
At that point, I couldn’t really think about the “Why’s, How’s, or anything along those lines.” I just wanted to get going on treatment so that I could get done with it. On September 30, only 22 days after finding my lump, I began my 5 months of chemo, followed by a lumpectomy and 36 radiation treatments.
In December 2016, I met the founder of the Iowa Army of Pink, a grassroots organization that would return for the 5th year advocating for legislation to inform women if their mammograms show dense breast tissue. So, in January 2017, bold and bald, I began lobbying at the Iowa State Capitol. One question that I was asked in a committee meeting really struck a chord with me – “Do you think that telling women about their breast density will instill fear in them?” I replied that it is information that women deserve to know so that they are empowered to take care of themselves and to be able to make informed health care decisions. The law passed, was signed in April 2017 and effective on January 1, 2018.
The Iowa Army of Pink, of which I am now a co-president, pivoted and became an educational non-profit to continue our work for women to be fully informed of the masking effects and the increased risk of dense breast tissue.
~ Brigid Greening
I had a normal 3D mammogram in April 2023, and since it had been 5 years since my last breast MRI I had a MRI September 15 2023, followed by a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. The 2.2 cm mass could not be seen on ultrasound for a biopsy so I had a MRI guided biopsy and was diagnosed with DCIS. I had a double mastectomy 10/16/2023. I finished reconstruction in March.
~ Marcelle Mahesh
I have never had an abnormal mammogram and 11 months before my diagnosis I had a normal mammogram. I felt a lump and an ultrasound finally picked up the abnormality. A biopsy and MRI later I was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma thankfully early stage. The false sense of security from those mammograms made the news a horrible kick in the gut! My genetic testing was negative how did this happen??? I chose to take on the next steps with God and my family at my side. Cancer will not steal my joy!
~ Andrea Olivarri
May 2024 had breast exam by my NP followed by a mammogram and ultrasound due to dense breast tissue. Sometime in July I felt a thickened area on the left side of left breast. Later as I felt under my left arm- there was a definite lump. Then I felt a very small lump on the thickened area of the breast. I am 74 with a history of breast cysts in 1999 and 2001 both removed surgically. In 2016 there were some small calcified spots on the upper portion of the left breast that were biopsied and a titanium tag placed to mark the area for future scans.
The last thing I suspected was cancer with regular exams and nothing suspicious as soon as 2 months earlier. In August I decided it was time to have it assessed. After another mammogram followed by 2 biopsies in September I was informed I have invasive ductal carcinoma in both the breast and the lymph node.
Today I saw the medical oncologist who after meeting with the tumor team decided my treatment plan should be chemo/surgery/chemo. I am Estrogen-positive, progestin-negative and HER2-pos. After blood work, PET scan, echocardiogram and port, he will go over chemotherapy schedule, side effects etc.
What a shock.
~ Bonnie Defrees
In October 2023, I had my routine annual mammogram and I was given the all clear/no changes noted. I was basically told it looked the same as last year and years before and I could follow up with my doctor in a year or if I had any questions or concerns. Around this time, I had a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer so the topic stayed fresh in my mind. Roughly 6 weeks after my clear mammogram, I was doing a monthly self breast exam and I found a lump in my breast. It wasn’t huge or painful or anything like that, but I knew my body well enough to know that this was different and I was caught off guard. Within the week I reached out to my physician and made him aware of my findings and my concerns. He saw me that day, agreed this was different and scheduled me for an ultrasound. After an ultrasound and a biopsy, I was diagnosed with hormone positive/HER2 negative breast cancer a week before Christmas.
I have been seen and treated by an amazing team of doctors and health care professionals. After discussing my diagnosis and taking my age, risk factors and many other things under consideration, I made the ultimate decision to have a bilateral mastectomy with flap reconstruction in February 2024. Surgery was successful and my prognosis was very positive. I had some bumps in the road as far as surgery recovery, but being a nurse for the past 20 years I knew this could be expected.
While the majority of my pathology was positive, my OncoScore was slightly higher than both medical and surgical oncology would like for it to be. Once again, after discussing my diagnosis and taking my age, risk factors and many other things under consideration, it was decided that I would benefit from receiving chemotherapy. I began chemotherapy in May 2024 (the day before my 43rd birthday and 3 weeks before my twin daughters high school graduation). I completed chemotherapy in July 2024. 6 weeks after completing chemotherapy, I made the decision to have a total hysterectomy/salpingo-oophorectomy to put me and keep me in menopause. Surgery went well with no complications. A month after surgery I began taking Anastrozole (AI for endocrine therapy). In November 2024 I will have my 6th surgery this year – the second stage of my reconstructive surgery.
~ Natalie Landry
I was told that I had dense breast tissue and an ABUS was recommended. Our insurance did not fully cover an ABUS and the out of pocket/co-pay was significant. I did not have an immediate family history of breast cancer and was not considered high risk.
I went from a clear mammogram in Feb 2017 to a 6 cm mass in Sept 2017. I was Stage 2B IDC and ILC Er/Pr+ and Her2-. 16 rounds of chemo for the IDC, a double mastectomy, where the remaining ILC 3cm tumor was removed, 28 rounds of radiation, Diep flap reconstruction and 2 revisions with the final revision in Dec 2020.
~ Deana Segreti
In December 2016, my sister, Lisa, was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She was 44 and we had never had any breast cancer in the family so this was a big shock. I ended up flying back to Denmark a lot after Lisa’s diagnosis as she went through chemo and radiation, and I kept going home as things got worse. The cancer eventually spread to her other breast, liver, bones, and brain and mutated into triple negative. I stayed with her for the last months, and she died in August 2019 leaving two beautiful children and us all heartbroken and traumatized.
Then, I was diagnosed with Lobular Breast Cancer in March 2020 at the age of 42, and it seemed unreal. After my sister’s diagnosis, I had my first mammogram, and they sent me to the hospital for another mammogram along with an ultrasound due to my breast density. For the next two years, I kept going back for mammography and ultrasound every six months until one day, the radiologist came in to have a look, and he decided to send me for an MRI, which is probably why I’m still here today.
I remember asking him if I should be worried and he said “Only if you want to be” with a kind smile. Well…I was a classic double whammy case with category C and D dense breasts and a 10.5cm mass on the right with three small areas (LCIS) on the left as well. I was shocked that this had been allowed to happen and mortified by my initial ignorance towards the risks associated with breast density and breast cancers like lobular that doesn’t form a lump due and is consequently known as “sneaky,” or as I prefer to say, “insidious.”
~ Gitte Henssel Joergensen
I had my first ever mammogram at 40 years old and the results were sent to my portal 10 business days later- “normal, but in fine print- heterogeneously dense breasts.” Being a Nurse Practitioner, I was not comfortable with that report and went to my GYN. I had done a self exam, and to my surprise I felt a small lump in my left breast. My GYN felt it and dismissed it, saying it was most likely a fibroadenoma from all my pregnancies. I demanded an ultrasound- she said ok but “no rush- get it in the next 6 months.” I went a month later and was immediately getting squeezed in for a biopsy that day. In my Nurse heart, I already knew it was cancer.. and 5 days later my fears were true — Stage 2 I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma — and it looks like you are “borderline triple negative.”
My entire world shattered that day. All I can think of is my poor little babies, they need their Mommy. I am one year out from my double mastectomy, and I would never let a friend or loved one wait even a day for further imagining. Dense breasts need more imaging — end of story.
~ Dania Francis
I was a registered interventional radiology nurse when I started getting yearly mammograms at age 40.
In 2009, I got called back for a diagnostic ultrasound and mammogram. I still remember the radiologist that worked in my group, had the ultrasound wand zeroing in on my cancer.
“It is nothing,” he said.
Two years later, I found the lump. It was stage 3 by then. I also read my radiology reports. If I had read them sooner, I would have gotten a second opinion or demanded a biopsy.
After receiving some treatment, the cancer had advanced to stage 4.
Because of circumstances, I had to travel to Texas from Virginia to get diagnostic scans. Two oncologists in Virginia had failed to address my hip pain. Every time there was something that I knew to be wrong, doctors dismissed me.
As a result, I have had metastatic breast cancer since 2013 as well as osteonecrosis of my jaw because of medication; a renal artery near-occlusion, and associated migraines, which lead to damage to my sphenoid sinus resulting in pneumocephalus.
I suffered many blood clots—of which when doctors did a VQ scan one year later, they found tiny scattered clots had invaded my lungs; a condition that was caused by the repetitive use of a port.
As an RN and a cancer patient, I am even more aware of the ramifications of poor and/or dismissive care.
~ Fran Clark
[Edited on 9/20/24 by JC]
I had gone for my annual screening mammogram. I was given the news that it was fine. At that time, the radiologist’s assistant told me that due to dense breasts (which I was told every year about), and family history (my mom), I qualified for a study involving a mammogram with contrast solution. I also had to come within two weeks. I decide to participate, thinking mom would want me to if she were here. Plus I like science and research. This mammogram with contrast had a bi-rads 4 result. Subsequently biopsy indeed showed a small (1cm) tumor. Invasive ductal carcinoma. Also invasive ductal carcinoma in situ. I was also diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ. I can’t help but think how so many of us with dense breasts are given the all clear following a traditional mammogram.
~ Kathy Serago
I was diagnosed with stage 1, PR/ER+ breast cancer, only five months after being diagnosed at 39 with stage 2A sigmoid colon cancer. I also have the CHEK2 gene mutation. My story begins with family history. Because my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 39 and passed away at age 45, I was enrolled in a “high-risk” program that allowed me to undergo screening and surveillance earlier than the general population.
In February of 2021, I had a routine mammogram just as I had done yearly since my early 20s, and my results were clear. One month later, I received my colon cancer diagnosis and began CT scans of my chest and abdomen to make sure no other tumors were found. The doctors saw only the colon tumor and nothing else. During this time, I had a scheduled appointment with the breast specialist who runs the high-risk breast cancer program. We spoke about scheduling my first breast MRI since I was approaching the age of 40.
Even though I was about to start my journey fighting colon cancer, I scheduled my MRI in August and that is when it was discovered that I had a small lesion in my right breast. I was then scheduled for a guided biopsy and from there I was given my breast cancer diagnosis.
This is when I also found out that I had a genetic mutation that was not previously on the DNA panel option when I first got tested for BRCA between the years of 2004-2005 and was negative. Due to the loss I experienced with my mom’s diagnosis, and now having my own second diagnosis only 5 months after the first, I knew I wanted to be aggressive with my next choice.
I selected to do a double mastectomy without reconstruction and an oophorectomy to remove both of my ovaries. I do not recall ever being told that my breasts were dense after a mammogram result for many years. It was only after the advances in technology that allowed a patient to read their medical chart electronically that I noticed an issue with a mammogram report. It stated, “heterogeneously dense.” At that time, I assumed it was a medical term for large breasts. It was never explained to me that it meant it could obstruct the clear view of a cancer tumor.
After my diagnosis, I went back into my electronic chart out of curiosity and noticed that around the year 2016, that term was updated to read, “heterogeneously dense, which may obscure small masses.” But again, that was not discussed with me during those times. Because of research, experience, and self-education, I have been passing this information along to other women who either are not familiar with the term or, like myself, assumed it meant they just had “large breasts.”
I am now on Anastrozole for 15 years as an extra precaution to lower my chances of a reoccurrence. This comes with many physical side effects that I am still adjusting to; however, I am beyond blessed to share that I am approaching my 3-year cancer-versary in October 2024, of being in remission and cancer-free!
I am continuing on the journey of healing and slowly venturing out of my comfort zone to share my story in the hope that it helps others.
~ Melissa Rider
[Edited by JC, 8/02/24]
I was called back in 2018 for a second look, because of dense breasts. A stereotactic biopsy was done, and I was told it was benign. They conducted yearly mammograms on me and kept informing me I had “dense breasts.” I had surgery (lumpectomy) on 1/27/2022 and tried adjuvant therapy (Anastrozole) with 33 radiation treatments.
The A.I. pills destroyed my left knee, and I ended up in a wheelchair for 6 months and quit taking them. I had been a participant in the MOST osteoarthritis joint pain study from its inception until 2020, which was about 20 years of MRIs and X-rays at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The inflammation from removing all the estrogen from my system was excruciatingly painful. This led to osteoporosis and gave me teariness, mood swings, brain fog, blurry vision, insomnia, and the worst pain I’d ever had in 76 years of life. Yet, I was told that “the only side effect from Anastrozole is a bit of stiffness in your hands and fingers, and it goes away when you quit taking it.”
My Illinois oncologist also refused to order an Oncotype test, so I did not receive an Oncotype score for planning treatment and did not find out what it was until 2023 when my Texas doctor got it for me—it was 29.
I was also turned down on my request, instead, for a Ki67 after surgery, suggested by my surgeon. My Illinois oncologist, when I relayed the surgeon’s suggestion that the ki67 might give me the peace of mind about recurrence that I craved, along with some percent of recurrence data, said, “I don’t order that for you. You’ll have to get someone else” and walked out.
His response to my listing of the horrible side effects I was having was to say, “Don’t take it then,” and to walk out again. There were no other suggestions as to changing the A.I. pills to Tamoxifen or any discussion at all of what I was going through. I had to have 32 ml of an anti-inflammatory injected into my left knee and 6 ml of Durolane, plus Tramadol for pain, at an Oak Brook Joint Pain Clinic in Illinois, because he denied concern the Anastrozole had made my osteopenia (-1,4T at outset) much worse (-2.2T).
On my last trip to my new oncologist in Iowa City in May 2014, I asked if he could order either an MRI or a superior mammogram for this year’s mammogram, which I would have to wait until late August to have because of insurance. He said, “Oh, you can order that yourself. Anyone can,” and left it up to me. I pressed that I’d like to have the “gold standard” of detection, because I have dense breasts, and, after a diagnostic mammogram in February 2023, I had flunked a HerScan test I paid for out of pocket.
I was told that I could only have the “better” form of test or an MRI if the last radiologist had made notations on my chart to that effect, so I guess that was a “no” to giving me the tests that would pick up on the reformation of a tumor. My late-in-the-game Oncotype score of 36% was likely because I had quit the adjuvant therapy drugs.
I tried taking Tamoxifen for 5 months after the disastrous and ill-advised Anastrozole experience, which lasted from February 2022 (less than a week out of surgery, when I was also taking 500 ml of Cephalexin for a seroma) until my knee blew out in September 2022.
I was off for 9 months, got my Oncotype from my Texas oncologist, and was on Tamoxifen for 5 months, which gave me non-stop UTIs and the most extreme fatigue of my life (could only be up for 3 hours at a time.) By then, my liver enzymes had gone through the roof and I was being tested for what could have caused that, although I have been “off” all anti-cancer adjuvant therapy drugs since August 2023.
As a result, I feel they have ruined me. My father died of liver cancer after it traveled from his colon, and I am petrified about this new series of side effects, which just surfaced on May 1st, 2024. I wrote to the original Illinois hospital about the negligent and dismissive attitude of my first Illinois oncologist after 3 of my former employees told me horror stories; one of which started, “He killed our mother.”
I received no response at all.
~ Connie Wilson
[Edited by JC 7/31/24]
By Ashley Inda
Fierce, loyal, kind, courageous, tenacious, dedicated, warm, funny, passionate, selfless, smart and loving are just a few words that described what Gail Zeamer was to all who came to know her. Arguably there is not enough time and words that captures the impact Gail has left on this world. Gail would want this post to share her story in hopes that it would save more lives so that her story doesn’t become yours.
GAIL’S STORY MATTERS
Gail, who was diligent about getting her yearly mammograms, received a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer, Stage IIIC in 2016 at the age of 47. Gail had dense breasts. Despite sharing her growing concerns about her new lumps at her yearly check ups, she did not know she had dense breasts, what the inherent risk factors of having dense breasts were nor did she know that mammograms miss up to 50% of breast cancers in women with dense breasts. After she was diagnosed, she asked her doctor why she wasn’t offered an ultrasound, they stated “that if everyone with ‘lumpy bumpies’ were sent for ultrasounds, the system would be overwhelmed.”
That didn’t sit well with Gail, she wondered, “Why hadn’t I known about my breast density and all the risk factors? “Why hadn’t my doctor talked to me about the risk factors and ordered supplemental screenings?” “What about all the other individuals who have dense breasts? Who is going to tell them? How will they know?”
So while Gail was undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, etc. to treat her breast cancer, she reached out to her state legislators and shared her story and her concerns about delayed diagnosis of breast cancer in women with dense breasts. After months of advocating, writing op-eds, doing radio and television interviews, providing testimony and meeting face to face with legislators, on April 3rd, 2018, the Wisconsin Breast Density Notification Bill 653 was passed and signed into law.
Gail resumed her busy life as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend and speech pathologist. She impacted the lives of children and families in her Birth-to-Three Program. She helped out at church planning fall festivals, and taught religious education. She was there for her daughters Sophia and Claudia in every way, watching them attend college and pursue their dreams. She enjoyed her time with her husband, Steve, and worked on home remodel projects. She took her dog Norman on walks around her neighborhood. She took the trips. She attended the celebrations. She gave her time. She embodied joy and made many more memories.
But she wasn’t done helping out those with dense breasts. She wasn’t done telling her story, educating the masses, and advocating for those with dense breasts who didn’t even know the danger that could be hiding within their dense tissue. With the little free time she had, she continued her involvement in the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition. She again went to her local legislators and said, “Hey, this breast density notification law is just the beginning. Now we are telling women with dense breasts that they might need supplemental screening but they are having to decide ‘do I pay the $1,000 for a breast MRI that may or may not find cancer or put braces on my teenager?’ We need insurance companies to cover most if not all of the costs of supplemental screenings.” AND they listened!
The first version of the bill, in the 2021-22 session (Assembly Bill 416 and Senate Bill 413), included a $50 co-pay for additional screening as a concession to insurance lobbyists. Gail was at it again, working tirelessly writing op-eds, answering interview questions for newspapers, radio and television, and getting those meetings in with core legislators to gain support on the bills.
In the midst of all this she started getting excruciating headaches that eventually landed her in the emergency room and confirmed her worst fears…the cancer was back and it had spread to her brain.
As scared, angry and frustrated as she was to learn this and start the whole treatment process over again…chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, etc. she did not waver. She persevered to get this piece of legislation passed. She believed in it that much, she wanted this for her daughters for all of us. It was worth it if it meant Claudia and Sophia would be protected, would be covered.
Guess what? The bills never made it out of committee, both bills died.
Gail persisted, again she reached out to her local legislators and said, “We are not doing enough. We need to cover the cost of supplemental screening in women with dense breasts so they can have a complete breast cancer screening!” So for the 2023-24 legislative session, Assembly Bill 119 and Senate Bill 121 was created with the original version covering even more additional supplemental screening modalities and NO COST SHARING responsibilities from individuals with dense breasts! Dream bills with the most driven and determined leader Gail at the forefront.
As the cancer spread to her brain, stringing together thoughts and recalling information became increasingly difficult, but she NEVER GAVE UP! She continued her treatments and she continued to FIGHT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DENSE BREASTS. She gave up so much of what precious time she had left to the cause. She believed it was the right thing to do.
Sadly, despite having bipartisan support and it being an obvious choice for individuals with dense breasts, Assembly Bill 119 and Senate Bill 121 never made it out of committee, never made it to the assembly or senate floor for an official vote. BOTH BILLS DIED…AGAIN.
Even after the recent round of failed bills, Gail was still strategizing what the next moves should be. Invigorating our policy committee members who were feeling defeated at the failure of our government to do the right thing. Her drive inspired all of us to regroup and try again.
Unfortunately, in the midst of all of this her cancer continued to spread causing more discomfort and seizures. On June 2nd, 2024 Gail passed away at the age of 56 and with it a bright, guiding, driving light was dimmed.
Only dimmed because Gail provided us with maps and tools to navigate this forward and to band together and share our light to see this through.
That’s the magic of Gail, she still presides in all of the past, present and future of this movement.
Gail has left a legacy whose gift will keep on giving for many generations with many of us in the Wisconsin Cancer Coalition joining the movement after reading one of her articles or seeing her news interview on television and we stayed true to her unwavering support. She has saved countless lives with her message and mission, selflessly knowing that it was too late to have the legislation impact her outcome.
Let’s continue to light the way for individuals with dense breasts and honor the love and dedication that Gail showed to this movement, and do the following:
In summary, thank you Gail for your love and light. Your legacy lives on in all of us.
GAIL’S STORY MATTERS
In July 2019 I found a lump in my right breast. I had 9 years of annual mammograms up to that point, so surely this was not a big deal, right? On July 24, 2019 I was told it was a cancerous tumor and had already spread to my bones and liver (innumerable masses). The next day I learned it has also spread to my adrenal gland. In November 2020 we discovered it had also spread to my brain. As of this writing I have had 85 chemo treatments, radiation to my adrenal gland and shoulder, 3 rounds of gamma knife to my brain plus, and recently, 5 rounds of SRS to the newest brain tumor (my 12th).
I did not know that I had extremely dense breast tissue. I did not learn that until I already had Metastatic Breast Cancer. I did not know that I should have been receiving additional testing each year since mammograms are not effective in detecting cancer in dense breast tissue. In order to work through the anger I have towards the health care system, I work with My Density Matters to spread awareness of breast density. I hope that in telling my story, I can help other women find breast cancer at an earlier stage, when it is highly treatable.
I had not heard of Metastatic Breast Cancer until I was diagnosed. I share my story to spread awareness of this disease and to help raise money for #LightUpMBC to fund research specifically for MBC. Funding metastatic breast cancer research is my only hope for staying alive. I am currently on a treatment that did not exist when I was diagnosed 5 years ago.
I am married to my highschool sweetheart, Dave. We live on a farm in East Central Illinois that has been in my family for 4 generations. We have children – Ross, Darrin, and Haley. When I was diagnosed with MBC, my middle had just graduated high school and my youngest was still in high school. I have survived long enough (5 years) to see them all into their early 20s and for that I am grateful. But it is not nearly enough.
~ Heidi Punke Brown
Read my blog about life with metastatic breast cancer at: https://bluehavanaheidi.com/
At age 37, I felt a lump in my breast––about the size of a large walnut. At that time in my life, I was not active in performing breast self-exams, but when I felt the lump, I immediately contacted my doctor. He recommended a mammogram. Over the next 12 months, with my persistence, I would have more mammograms and office visits. By the time the lump had grown to the size of a large lemon, I finally got a new doctor to pay attention—a biopsy followed along with a unilateral mastectomy.
It was a struggle (1992) to get access to my medical records, and it would take even longer to learn that it is more difficult to detect breast cancer in women who have dense breasts.
I’m lucky to be alive. I also know that three decades later it remains that greater efforts must be made to educate breast care centers, OBGYNs, general practitioners, and all women around the world about dense tissue.
~ Beverly Vote
From my 40th birthday on, I got an annual mammogram, as recommended by the medical community at the time. Every year I was told that the mammogram was clear, and I was fine. One year I noticed that the test result indicated that I had dense breasts. I asked my OBGYN what that meant, and he told me that it was nothing to worry about. I shouldn’t have believed him.
While jogging on May 6, 2010, I noticed a sharp twinge of pain in my right breast every time my right foot hit the ground. Although I’d had a clear mammogram at the end of March, just five weeks earlier, I examined my breasts in the shower, and didn’t notice any lumps. After my shower I noticed that a dent appeared in my right breast when I raised my right arm to apply deodorant. I squeezed both breasts at the same time and noticed that my right breast felt harder than my left. I called my OBGYN right away.
I saw my OBGYN May 7 and he referred me to a breast cancer surgeon. I saw her the next business day, May 10, and she recommended an MRI. It was scheduled one week later. When I got to the hospital for the MRI, I learned that it had been canceled because my insurance company refused to authorize it. I walked down the hall to the breast surgeon’s office and was told that my doctor was working with the insurance company to get them to change their decision.
I had the MRI toward the end of May and saw my breast surgeon the next business day. The radiology department had not read the MRI, so the breast surgeon pulled up the film and looked at it herself. She excused herself to talk to the radiologist, leaving the MRI film visible on her computer while I waited for her to return. I have no medical training, but I could easily see that one breast appeared almost entirely white, and the other appeared almost entirely black. I knew something was wrong, but since I’d just had a clear mammogram, I wasn’t concerned about breast cancer.
When my breast surgeon returned to her office, she told me that it appeared I had breast cancer, but she couldn’t be certain without a biopsy. I got the biopsy results the next day, confirming that I had breast cancer. I assumed that it was caught early, since it didn’t appear in my mammogram.
At my next appointment I had a CT scan and learned that my breast cancer was not caught early. Instead of facing a finite set of treatments and a high likelihood of a cure, I had metastatic breast cancer and it was fatal.
The hardest thing I’ve ever done was to tell my daughters that I had metastatic breast cancer. They were crying, I was crying, and we were all terrified of the significance of my diagnosis. My oldest daughter had just gotten engaged, and suddenly I was unsure whether I would be alive for the wedding. My youngest was applying for college, and I didn’t know if I would see her graduate from high school. Everything I dreamed of for my future was suddenly gone. All I knew was that I would die from breast cancer, and it would happen soon. It was as if I’d acquired my very own black rain cloud, and it was raining on everything in my life.
I’m lucky that Herceptin was discovered before my diagnosis. It was my first line of therapy, and 14 years after diagnosis it’s still keeping me cancer-free. While I still hesitate to hope for things or plan things too far into the future, I’m finally feeling that for a while, I have my life back.
~ Linda Hansen
My grandmother had stage 0 breast cancer in her 70s. She chose not to treat it and died from other causes in her 80s. I asked for an old-school baseline mammogram at 35 and then began regular screening mammograms at 40. I had my two children in my 20s and breastfed both of them a year each. I had been a healthy eater, fit, and a non-smoker/drinker for my whole adult life.
My mammogram reports declared dense tissue and I was NEVER offered additional screenings like ultrasound or an MRI. And I did not know to ask for them. My mammogram reports never concerned my GYN doctors.
In January 2021, at the age of 46, I had my mammogram and it was negative. The next month I saw a slight area protruding from my left breast when I looked in the mirror. I could feel a lump, but my smallish breasts had always felt glandular. I was in the sore breasts/bloat time of my cycle and I waited a couple of weeks. There was definitely a lump.
I went to a nurse practitioner at my GYN office and she thought everything felt normal. I asked for the diagnostic mammogram order anyways.
Later that week, I had the diagnostic mammogram and then was taken back for ultrasound. A radiologist was called in to look too. This was in the time of facemasks-for-all and I could see it in her eyes. And I knew.
A few days later I had a biopsy and it showed invasive ductal carcinoma.
I had a double mastectomy and lymph node biopsy in March 2021. Cancer was found in 2 out of 3 sentinel nodes. I was staged at 1b because of it being hormone receptor positive. I began a thorough cancer treatment journey. Five months of chemotherapy and then 25 radiation therapy treatments. And now 10 years of endocrine therapy, which might just be the hardest part!
3D mammography–and the radiologists who read them–missed my 2 x 3cm mass. Ultrasound and MRI couldn’t visualize the affected lymph nodes. Looking back at my mammogram reports, they were never read by a doctor with “breast specialist” in their bio.
I am thankful to be alive and well and have supportive family and friends. You have a new normal after cancer. The surgery and treatment took–and keeps taking–a big toll on my body. The journey is hard, but God has preserved and sustained and grown me!
~ Karen Karyshyn
Straight out of the womb, I was a rule-follower. I heed marching orders to the letter … especially when it comes to doctors. So when they told me, “Get a mammogram every year.” … I complied. Years later when they became breast-density-aware, they told me, “Get a 3D-mammogram every year.” … I complied.
Each year I would get my all-clear 3D-mammo and gleefully skip through the next 365 days, knowing that even if a little cancer ever started growing … it could never be more than 1 year old and so, so tiny. Because I was so diligent, the most I would ever need is a lumpectomy. 100% — I believed these to be FACTS, not theories.
In 2014, they thought they saw a small shadow and couldn’t quite get a handle on it. So they sent me to the biopsy specialist who studied my scans, examined me, and declared “There is nothing there for me to biopsy – you are totally fine. Sometimes a shadow is just a shadow.” SO eager to hear those words, I didn’t question his conclusion at all — I took my all-clear paperwork and once again was skipping in the sunshine.
He was the authority figure. And he was dead wrong.
Four years and four all-clear 3D mammo’s later … they catch a more prominent shadow and diagnostic scans ensue. This time they find more than a shadow … invasive lobular cancer. But we are way, WAY beyond lumpectomy-territory.
“Your tumor is approximately 4 inches long.” …….. WHAT?!? What sort of wildly aggressive cancer grows 4 inches in just ONE YEAR?! The doctor gently informs me, “Based on the cells, we estimate it’s been growing there for about 10 years.”
How can this be? I followed the rules! I have annual scans! I did what the doctors told me!
For a DECADE cancer grew inside me while doctors smiled and waved and sent me “all clear” letters, when the entire time … the 3D scan of my breast was like trying to shine a flashlight through a cement block. But no one talked about that.
And because of that, we now had to talk about mastectomy, reconstruction, treatment, and how I am lucky to be alive. Being a rule-follower almost cost me my life.
Please – advocate for yourself! Don’t settle … don’t view your 3D-mammo as your get-out-of-cancer-free ticket. If you have dense breasts, you need MORE … the fallibility of 3D is no longer a secret. Push for additional scanning and LIVE.
~ Kim Penny
My Density Matters – this statement couldn’t be truer for me. I was diagnosed in January 2022 with stage IV metastatic breast cancer. What a big surprise when all my previous mammograms were normal, the last one being January 2021.
Since this diagnosis, which turned my world upside down, I had plans for retirement a few years down the road, and many other plans that may not happen now. I couldn’t understand how I could be Stage IV – I did everything right! How could this be? How long did I have cancer in my body for it to get to that stage?
I was angry, depressed, scared, and numb. Rather than sit and wallow in ‘WHY ME’ I decided to get educated. I learned very quickly that I had been misinformed and received inadequate screening. I have dense breasts. I was told a 3D mammogram was sufficient. WRONG! I should have received other screenings to accompany it.
The cancer I have is called Lobular carcinoma known as the “SNEAKY CANCER”. It hides, it appears in lines on a mammogram, and is hard to detect in dense breasts. This prompted me to post on my Facebook page about everything I was learning to help save other women from the fate I now face. Because of this diagnosis, I will potentially lose years off my life, I can’t do the things I did previously, not to mention the emotional and physical impact it has put on me, my husband, and my family.
Through this process, I met Leslie Ferris Yerger through a mutual friend and contact. Leslie has the same cancer as I do, and is educating people about the inadequacies of our current breast cancer screening norms for women with dense breasts. Leslie is using her diagnosis to save lives. I am very happy I learned of My Density Matters, and I participated in ‘Find Out My Breast Density Day’ on 2/22/22.
I wish I had known about this a year or two years ago. It may have changed my diagnosis. I urge everyone to share the My Density Matters information with your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, everyone and anyone, and remember breast cancer happens to men too! I shared information with my family and co-workers who did not know about dense breasts and the risks, and as a result I had about 15 people request different screenings and maybe even saved their life.
I urge you to share this website – you may save your life or the life of someone you know or love.
We need more education on dense breasts and essential additional breast cancer screening options.
Join us in sharing MY DENSITY MATTERS and ‘Be the Change’ because breast density matters!
~ Debbie DeGraw
It Didn’t Run in My Family Either
I was 32 when my hand brushed up against my right breast, a lump. I couldn’t stop touching it. I couldn’t stop obsessing about it. I called my sister who is a doctor and she assured me it was probably a cyst. Nonetheless she told me to call my doctor.
I remember walking into my primary care physician’s office, crying, convinced this was not a cyst. My mind was going to places that I couldn’t control. My blood pressure is normally low; when my doctor took it his expression showed me that today wasn’t normal. He sent me in for a mammogram and an ultrasound. Thankfully, my assumptions were incorrect, it was indeed a cyst. I could breathe again.
I had a follow up with my doctor a couple weeks later. He suggested that I see a breast surgeon. I looked at him, questioning his sanity & my own for that matter. I was just told that everything was fine, why would I have to go to see a breast surgeon?? He proceeded to tell me that sometimes it’s nice to have a specialist look at the results to be safe. I walked out of the office with the breast surgeon’s phone number in my purse not sure if I would call. I just wanted to move on with my life, I was done with this. However, I had a nagging feeling to just make the appointment. I didn’t know at the time, but while making that decision, I was inviting someone into my life that was going to save it one day.
I sat in her office crinkling the paper on the exam table trying to breathe through my nervousness. She walked in, a beautiful blue-eyed woman with such a calming presence that I was immediately at ease. She introduced herself & put my mammogram results up on the screen; she explained to me that I have extremely dense breast tissue (DBT). I had no idea what that meant. She showed me exactly what it looked like, vs someone who doesn’t have dense breasts. She continued to explain, “You should be monitored every year with a mammogram and an ultrasound. Mammograms aren’t enough for women with DBT, cancer can hide very easily which is why additional screening is needed.”
I sat there dumbfounded. I proceeded to tell her that I was 32 (as if she didn’t read my file) & breast cancer didn’t run in my family so this made no sense to me. She informed me that none of that mattered, I was at risk because of the DBT and it was enough of a risk for me to take this seriously.
So, that’s what I did — every year I would go in for a mammogram and every year the people performing the exam would question why I was there since I was so “young”. After that appointment, I would schedule my ultrasound with my surgeon. She would personally perform the ultrasound each year; a lot of people are amazed that a breast surgeon would do this yearly instead of being sent somewhere else for the screening. But this is what she did, and not only for me, I must add. She is a selfless doctor that I’m grateful to have in my life.
It had been 4 years since I began this routine, and this year was no different. I received my mammogram in October 2012 and was told my results were “all clear” and that I didn’t have to come back for another 4 years since I still wasn’t 40. Every year they told me the same thing, come back when you are 40, and every year my doctor told me to ignore what they said. “I make those decisions, not them.”, she declared.
I had my ultrasound in December 2012; it started out as always, I spoke incessantly, and my doctor listened. As she moved around my left breast, something was different, she was concentrating more, she was moving the wand with more purpose than usual. I kept talking as my anxiety started to rise, thinking that if I kept talking, she couldn’t tell me something I didn’t want to hear.
“Are you late for your period?”, she asked. I was late which was normal for me when under stress which I was with the holidays approaching.
“Ok, that’s probably why things look it a bit off. I’m sure it’s hormonal but to be sure I want you to get an MRI.”, she declared.
Nausea. That’s what I felt, that’s all I felt. I’m going to be sick; this cannot be happening. It’s a week before Christmas, what kind of cruel joke is this?? She assures me that she is taking this extra step to be sure & that at this point there is nothing to worry about.
This was a Monday; I had the MRI scheduled for that Wednesday. By Wednesday night I was driving home from a friend’s house, and I received a phone call that they would like me to come in the next day for a biopsy.
I laid on the table with my sister by my side. The radiologist put my hand where the suspicious spot was and asked me if I ever felt that before. I told her no. She proceeded to tell me & my sister that she didn’t think this biopsy was necessary because she wasn’t “impressed” with the MRI results to justify it. Thankfully, having a sister who is a doctor really helped because I will be blatantly honest, I was looking for any excuse to not get this test done. And this doctor was basically telling me this was a waste of all our time.
“Put the needle in.”, my sister proclaimed. I signed papers to let my sister receive the results because I felt like getting good or bad news would be best coming from her.
It was 9:00am on Christmas Eve, yes, Christmas Eve, … the phone rang. I knew it was going to be a call that changed my life. Seeing my sisters number pop up on the caller ID just confirmed this. I’m a late sleeper when I’m off work, and everyone knows not to call me before 11:00am, but this was obviously a call that had to be made.
“I got a call this morning regarding the biopsy results, and it is cancer. I’m so sorry.”, she sadly told me.
I couldn’t tell you exactly what happened next. The only thing I know for sure is there were a lot of tears. I was 36 with no family history and all clear mammogram & I was just diagnosed with breast cancer. I thought I was safe. How the hell did this happen??
This was when I realized none of that mattered.
Cancer doesn’t discriminate. Cancer doesn’t care about your economic status. Cancer doesn’t care about your race. Cancer doesn’t care about your gender. And cancer DEFINITELY doesn’t care about your age.
We are failing women all over the world based on fake criteria.
1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
40% of women in the US have dense breast tissue. They are 4 times more likely to develop breast cancer.5% of women are diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 40. That number might seem low to you, but to that 5% of women, that number is 100% because it happened to US. Those statistics are just that, statistics, numerical data that that takes that human portion out of the equation.
The criteria we should be concentrating on is proper screening for all women no matter their age or family history.
Breast cancer didn’t run in my family . . . now it does.
~ Jeannine Canino Bieda
If it weren’t for my MRI, they never would have found it.
The cancer never appeared on ultrasound or mammogram. Only because I had extremely dense breasts was I offered supplemental screening.
~ Marie Gilbert
6 1/2 years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer two months after an all clear mammogram and ultrasound. My cancer was not visible due to my breast density. It was the absolute shock of my life.
I had no idea that breast cancer was growing throughout my entire skeletal system. Given the grave statistics women diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer face, I am thrilled (and a bit surprised) to be here today to tell the tale. Unfortunately, most women with the same diagnosis are not as lucky as I am. Our 5 year survival rate is about 30%.
I am beyond frustrated that the ‘system’ allows so many breast cancers to be found at later stages due to breast density, causing hardship and even death to so many. This has always been the case; breast density is not a new problem, yet so little has actually been done about it.
I am dedicating the rest of my life to making it better for the women coming after me – our daughters, friends, family, and co-workers. We can do better, but we simply aren’t doing all we can.
I wish the system would change for the better on our behalf because it is simply the right thing to do, but I honestly don’t think it will. Therefore, it is up to us to ‘make it happen’. If we have to, then we will. Game on.
That’s why I formed My Density Matters, so more women can find their breast cancer earlier, while still curable – so my story doesn’t become their story.
~ Leslie Yerger
Everyone remembers where he/she/they were when the news came. Much of my dismay centered on the fact that I had to wait five long, anguishing days after the punishing biopsy for the phone call.
It came. “Well, it’s cancer”, my doctor said, delivering the news with all the bravado of a lead balloon. Her level tone droned on as my mind spun into panic mode tinged with an out-of-body flight to somewhere in the stratosphere.
After that, I did not hear the rest of her words. I just sat there, stunned. Spiraling inside while fighting every second, to keep my composure.
(“The Beautiful Warrior’s Manifesto—Navigating the Path to Survival”, Warrior Wisdom Essays, Substack, 2024).
Shock and confusion overwhelmed me. After all, I had been meticulous with my health and submitted to my annual mammograms without fail since I was forty. I had never missed one. And then, as I was about to approach my 57th birthday, I was preparing for surgery and the most arduous ordeal of my life.
The surgery confirmed the diagnosis four months later, resulting in the loss of my left breast and twenty-two lymph nodes. The 3 cm tumor extracted told a chilling reality—my cancer had been growing for at least 4-5 years.
It was stage III (ER+, PR+, HER2-, Grade 2) invasive ductal breast cancer. Follow up treatment included a grueling year and a half of chemotherapy and radiation.
It did not take long for me to question how could this have happened? My mind reeled with replayed scenarios of at least two “call backs” five and three years earlier for a suspicious abnormality of my left breast, only to be assuaged with more mammogram imaging after which being given the all-clear to resume my life.
I had been aware of my dense breast tissue from my early thirties and believed that my former and current OBGYN had all matters covered when treating me.
But instead, my doctor prescribed HRT for my premenopausal symptoms that I had been taking for three years. I had believed whole-heartedly that she had my best interests in mind when she examined me each year (including a manual breast exam) and sent me on my way without so much as a word or discussion about my unique risk factors.
With the most severe consequences, she neglected to mention the importance of or voice concern about the disease of my dense breast tissue. Not only did she fail to mention the availability of alternate modalities, but she also neglected to highlight their necessity in ensuring the certainty of assessing my breast health in a way that was as thorough as possible.
She failed me. And she continues to fail every woman under her care and practice.
This gross misdiagnosis is all too common. It is one, however, that could be reduced with education, resources, and legislation that will advocate for women who, like me, put their trust in the wrong hands, instead of our own.
Women can reduce this tragedy by telling their stories and rallying others to see the need for more transparency and informed discussions that can enact change.
Self-advocacy is the surest way to remain diligent in the face of this fast-growing disease that takes one in eight of our own. Our mothers and sisters; our daughters and our friends. Over half of women today have dense breast tissue—half.
The apathy and greed of a rapacious medical system that is all too happy to fix you when you break, is only met and fueled by this reality.
And this perhaps is the worst tragedy of all.
~ Jamie Collins
My name is Ashley Inda. I am a mother of two, wife, daughter, sister, friend, occupational therapist, advocate and breast cancer survivor.
I wish I could say that my story was an anomaly, that my breast cancer was missed due to my dense breasts as a fluke, an unlucky, rare occurrence but as you may have already discovered it is a shared story with many women across this country and it needs to end.
By sharing my story I hope that it will inspire you, empower you and ignite you to join our fight to make it essential that individuals with dense breasts have access and coverage of supplemental screening in order to have a COMPLETE BREAST CANCER SCREENING!
MY STORY MATTERS!
At the age 35 years old after finishing nursing my daughter for nearly three years I discovered several lumps that were new to me. I went to my primary care doctor who ordered a mammogram and ultrasound after a breast examination to get it checked out. The final diagnosis of those two screenings were just that I had DENSE BREAST TISSUE, no breast cancer detected. Phew.
Six months went by and I noticed the lump on my left breast hardening and becoming larger. My primary care doctor did a breast examination at a routine physical and ultimately ruled it to be a normal breast exam, just “DENSE BREAST TISSUE.” This information was incorrect (which I know now). You can’t feel dense breasts, it’s only a radiological finding. “Just DENSE BREAST TISSUE” was used in a way to alleviate my fears when in reality it should have elevated them.
Not wanting to make a mountain out of a molehill, I left it alone. I left the cancer growing inside my left breast alone. Two years went by and my symptoms only worsened. My left breast hurt, I couldn’t lay on my left side, hugs from my kids hurt and in the quiet moments in the shower during breast examinations, I went back and forth, back and forth trying to reassure the whispers my body was sending me that it was fine, it was all okay. I can’t tell you how many times I had “symptoms of breast cancer,” pulled up on my phone while doing a self examination. I didn’t have inverted nipples. I didn’t have drainage from my nipples. I didn’t have many of the symptoms listed, I only had a huge mass in my left breast (that took up my whole breast), tingling and feeling of fullness AND pain all the time.
When at a routine physical two years later my primary doctor after doing another breast examination ruled, “normal breast exam, just DENSE BREASTS” I sighed and said, “I’m young, I have two young kids. I would like another mammogram and ultrasound to put my mind at ease.” She obliged. Putting my mind at ease was the farthest thing that happened at my second mammogram and ultrasound. I was biopsied on site and unfortunately I was diagnosed with Stage III, Triple Positive Breast Cancer. The cancer had spread to my lymph nodes.
Over the course of the past two years I have endured the following: chemotherapy, bilateral mastectomy, immunotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy and reconstruction surgery.
Here are the lessons i want you to learn from my story:
Speaking of supplemental screening, not all modalities and supplemental screening options are created equal, for example ultrasound which I did receive the first time only finds an additional 3-4 breast cancers BUT MRI finds 16-25 per 1000 (3).
If you have dense breasts it’s important that you know your lifetime risk of developing breast cancer (fill out the Tyrer Cuzick calculator) and have a conversation with your primary care doctor to determine which supplemental screening modality(ies) would work best for you.
BUT if I could go back in time, I wish I could have received an MRI after I returned to my primary care doctor with worsening symptoms.
For all of you currently in the thick of it, know this, it gets better. Tough times don’t last.
And when you are feeling up to it, join me and my friends at “My Density Matters” and help us pressure our legislators to pass laws that require insurance companies to cover the cost of supplemental screening and imaging in women with dense breasts AND request that the US Preventive Task Force update their guidelines to reflect what the American College of Radiology and countless numbers of high-level evidence-based studies that supports the requirement for women with dense breasts to receive supplemental screening in addition to mammography for breast cancer screening.
MY STORY MATTERS and like Leslie Yerger always says, it’s important to share MY story so that OUR story doesn’t become YOUR story. Thank you for allowing me to share my story and hold space for our collective experience as it relates to breast density and a delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. Knowledge is power, let’s go out there and change the future. Let’s rewrite the narrative for women with dense breasts.
—– sample text for the body of your message —–
I am writing today as your constituent to urge you to co-sponsor the re-introduced Find It Early Act (H.R.3086), a bipartisan piece of legislation that would ensure all health insurance plans cover screening and diagnostic mammograms and additional screening for women with dense breasts and other high risk factors, with no cost-sharing.
Early detection is key to the effective treatment of breast cancer – 99 percent of women who receive an early diagnosis survive it. Unfortunately, women often have to pay high out-of-pocket costs for additional screenings due to risk factors such as breast density or family history. Many women have a heightened risk of breast cancer but cannot afford the cost of screening and will choose to delay or forgo these crucial tests. This decision often leads to later stage diagnoses when breast cancer is less treatable or possibly incurable, and therefore terminal. The bipartisan Find It Early Act would eliminate this ‘hidden cost’ of breast cancer diagnosis by requiring private and government insurers to cover the out-of-pocket costs often faced by women who require additional screenings to diagnose their cancer. This policy change would increase the early detection of breast cancer, thereby saving countless lives, and saving exorbitant costs of later stage cancer care.
I urge you to co-sponsor this important piece of legislation that will help more women access essential, and potentially life-saving, screenings services for breast cancer. Thank you sincerely for taking action to represent the interests of your constituents and for playing an integral part in saving countless lives.
The denser your breasts, the higher your risk of developing breast cancer1, AND the less likely mammography alone will detect it2. Additional screening is needed for those women at higher risk due to breast density, yet additional screening is often not covered by insurance, leaving millions of women at risk for later stage diagnosis and poorer outcomes.
The Find It Early Act was introduced in December of 2022 by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT) and Congressman Brian Kirkpatrick (PA) . This bill calls for insurance coverage for mammograms and diagnostic mammograms as well as additional screening for women with dense breasts and other risk factors, with no cost sharing.
The passage of this bill would be a gamechanger for women with dense breasts and otherwise higher risk women by allowing for earlier diagnosis, less life-altering treatments, and lives saved.
Originally introduced in December of 2022, this Act must now be reintroduced into the current 118th Congress; this reintroduction is expected in mid-March of 2023.
Follow our social media channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) or sign up for our mailing list for updates on reintroduction and for more information on how YOU can help get this bill passed.
References:
Do you want to be present for your child’s graduation? Do you want to stay healthy enough to run a half marathon next year? Do you want to keep enjoying gardening in the sunshine?
Whatever it is, share your own personal WHY – your reason it’s important to find out your breast density and take charge of your own health via our social media challenge. Let’s have some fun and get creative!
It’s as simple as 1 – 2 – 3. Post, Tag, and Use #densitytime
#1 – POST a photo of yourself doing something you love with a few descriptive words. No love or joy is too big or too small – it all matters. Examples:
• I’m finding out my breast density because I want to watch my baby grow up.
• It’s time to find out my breast density because I want to keep watching amazing sunrises each morning.
• My breast density matters because I love ____.
#2 – TAG your friends/family and @mydensitymatters and encourage them to share their own WHY to keep the message of purpose going.
#3 – USE HASHTAG #densitytime in your post to be entered to win a $100 EVEREVE or Amazon gift card! Prizes will be awarded on March 1, 2023. Check your favorite My Density Matters social media channel on March 1, 2023 to find out who won!
We look forward to seeing you on social media sharing your WHY.
Carmen West is a Senior Global Human Capital & Change Transformation Professional.
Leading and consulting with over 25 years of progressive human resources experience expanding diverse functions within human capital management, change management & cultural transformation, project management, and building high-performing teams. A servant leader who thrives on helping people of all backgrounds, business, and professional levels be the best they can be — to choose to be GREAT!
The owner and executive director of West Advantage HR Solutions, LLC; newly created to embody a servant leadership focus around People, Processes, & Technology, and providing leadership & coaching to support and partner within organizations and individuals so they accomplish greatness as the “Future of Work” is changing and transformation is underway.
In her career she has worked for various fortune 200-500 companies leading and executing large scale HR transformational initiatives and projects as well as infrastructure & process design, execution, and system integrations. Regarded as a knowledgeable business leader partnering with senior leaders and a respected leader who has the courage to raise the tough questions.
Her Why? That same courage & resilience was put to the test battling Breast Cancer alongside her Mom as the main caregiver and a year later with her own diagnosis of Breast Cancer after her Mom’s. Her Mom passed away a year after Carmen was giving the all clean-A Survivor. However, not satisfied with doing nothing, Carmen marched in “Making Strides” with American Cancer Association for herself and others, but mostly in honor of her Mother. Still that was not enough! After being connected with “My Density Matters” she has found her purpose in giving hope and valuable information to women like herself who have dense breast—there’s power in knowing your density & the various methods of testing. As the #1 advocate for your life you can fight proactively and WIN the War on Cancer. To be a SURVIOR, you must be a WARRIOR.
Kim Penny is the Founder & Director of CyberSizzle Media.
Abigail Johnston is the Founder of Connect IV Legal Services.
Colleen Rosenblum & Bridgett Garratt are co-hosts of Hot Flashes & Cool Topics podcast.
Hélène Tragos Stelian is a Certified Life Coach, Speaker, and Community Builder.
As a Midlife Empowerment Coach, she helps women who are struggling in their 40s and beyond—who wonder if their best years are behind them and what’s next for them. She shows them how to put themselves first, reclaim their identity, figure out what’s next, and feel excited about their future. She coaches women primarily through her signature 6-week Discover Your Purpose group program. She also speaks on many topics, including purpose, the empty nest, perfectionism, procrastination, legacy, and goal setting.
Hélène is passionate about connecting women to each other as well as to educational and inspirational content. She has built an active community through her Facebook group, Empowering Women in Midlife, where women support and encourage each other—and share a laugh or two! She also shares educational and inspirational content through her interviews, both on her blogs and in her Facebook lives (on her page and in her group).
Hélène splits her time between Chicago, Illinois and Sarasota, Florida, has been married to Peter for 25 years, and has twin girls in their twenties. She loves dancing, crime shows, orchids—and eats chocolate every day!
Karla Mans Giroux – KMG Holistic Cancer Coaching
Health Coach, Lifestyle Consultant, Keynote Speaker and
Radical Remission Coach & Workshop Facilitator
Karla Mans Giroux is a long-time user of natural, holistic healing. When faced with a cancer challenge, she sought natural holistic solutions as well as conventional care. Karla knows just how hard change can be. She also knows how important it can be, and never more important than when faced with a serious illness. She is certified as a Wisdom of the Whole Health Coach and Radical Remission Coach & Workshop Facilitator and is thrilled to be able to offer coaching and workshops to those on a cancer journey, as well as those seeking prevention. Karla is also a natural and dynamic keynote speaker and is available to share her message of hope and inspiration. Karla calls herself a cancer thriver and is passionate about empowering others to successfully do the same.
Contact Karla @ 847-902-0659
Karla@KMGCoach.com | www.KMGCoach.com
https://www.facebook.com/KarlaMansGirouxKMGCoach/
Susan LePlae Miller
Susan is a cross-functional partnerships manager with a proven track record of building teams and engaging people, processes, and technology to develop strategic initiatives.
She created Pieces of I, LLC to empower “Passion Projects”. Currently working on two core initiatives: a breast cancer screening awareness (My Density Matters – helping women to advocate for their breast health), and #Teach1 (a pay it forward methodology to help small businesses and the at-risk population).
Her core value pillars of respect, compassion, authenticity, empowerment, kindness, and connection weave throughout her stories, and her mantra is: “Know your value, live your values”.
SurvivingBreastCancer.org is a virtual breast cancer patient & community platform empowering those diagnosed with breast cancer and their loved ones from day one and beyond through educational content (blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and webinars etc.), community and support resources.
We understand that a breast cancer diagnosis doesn’t just impact the individual, but everyone around them. We provide an inclusive and collaborative space to holistically support our community members. Through stories, our voices and our lived experiences, we empower one another because we know we are stronger together.
Tamoxifen is used to treat breast cancer. It is also used to reduce the chances of breast cancer in high-risk patients.
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