Australian women denied knowledge of their increased breast cancer risk
Mez_BCNA
Administrator, Staff, Member, Moderator Posts: 1,170 ✭
Approximately 10% of women have high breast density. At this point in time, thousands of Australian women are being denied important information about their breast health which could empower them to better understand and manage their risk of breast cancer.
BCNA’s Director of Policy, Advocacy and Support Services, Vicki Durston, says Australia’s approach to population-based screening is not keeping pace with growing evidence that supports routine reporting of breast density. This due to the absence of national reporting standards and a lack of software in publicly funded screening services that can effectively measure breast density.
“Every woman has the right to know and understand her breast cancer risk through standardised breast density reporting,” she says. “For those identified as high-risk or with high breast density, it is essential that clear options and pathways are available to support early detection and proactive risk management.”
Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) is currently advocating for a unified national approach to reporting breast density through Australia's national population-based breast screening program – BreastScreen.
Mammography images showing the difference between spotting cancer in a fatty breast (top) vs dense breast (bottom). It's like "spotting a snowman in a snow storm".
You can read BCNA's media release via the link Australian women denied knowledge of their increased breast cancer risk ABC have promoted a feature piece on BCNA's advocacy efforts: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-11/mandatory-breast-density-reporting/104889340
BCNA’s Director of Policy, Advocacy and Support Services, Vicki Durston, says Australia’s approach to population-based screening is not keeping pace with growing evidence that supports routine reporting of breast density. This due to the absence of national reporting standards and a lack of software in publicly funded screening services that can effectively measure breast density.
“Every woman has the right to know and understand her breast cancer risk through standardised breast density reporting,” she says. “For those identified as high-risk or with high breast density, it is essential that clear options and pathways are available to support early detection and proactive risk management.”
Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) is currently advocating for a unified national approach to reporting breast density through Australia's national population-based breast screening program – BreastScreen.
Mammography images showing the difference between spotting cancer in a fatty breast (top) vs dense breast (bottom). It's like "spotting a snowman in a snow storm".
You can read BCNA's media release via the link Australian women denied knowledge of their increased breast cancer risk ABC have promoted a feature piece on BCNA's advocacy efforts: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-11/mandatory-breast-density-reporting/104889340
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Comments
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Well done BCNA for advocating so strongly for us to be advised of our breast density & the risks associated with NOT knowing it.
It is slowly becoming standard for Supplemental ultrasound being recommended for women with dense breast tissue. This is a document showing which European countries recommend it as at 2024 ....
https://densebreast-info.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Table-Europe-Guidelines122724.pdf2 -
@BCNA Thanks for advocating! I had known for some time I had dense breast tissue but didn't understand anything about it until after my bilateral mastectomy when pathology tests showed a second lot of cancer that wasn't picked up in the screening due to the extent of dense tissue. I've since been trying to learn more about dense breasts & if it's hereditary etc. BCNA, thanks for bringing this to our attention0
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Thanks for advocating. I was fortunate to have a gp who sent me for a mammogram at 40. She told me I needed a mammogram and ultrasound every year because I had dense breasts. It was because of this yearly mammogram and ultrasound my early breast cancer was diagnosed. Keep pushing BCNA1
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I am all for the advocacy but isn’t this also a major communication issue? Dense breasts and difficulties in detection have been known for a long time now, so perhaps it needs a more overt awareness campaign. It’s still possible to read stories of women with unusual breast issues who nevertheless wait for months before seeking medical
help. COVID hasn’t helped, we know, but neither does the anti vaccine/ anti radiation/anti science wave we are dealing with, especially for younger women getting their information from social media.0
