So ... I received a Breastscreen NSW reminder for my 2 yearly mammogram!
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Yep to all that @arpie...and what about the massive SECRET regarding women 40-49 - eligible for FREE screening mammograms but not told they exist!! 20% of BC's are found in women aged 40-49 and these have been available since 1993 - when Bob Hawke lowered the age eligibility from 50 to 40. So for 26 years this has existed, still most women their 40's have no clue.
My BC was picked up on my 4th regular screen at 46, so I have a different perspective to you. I know it is imperfect, but the stats show just how much of a difference screening makes to the population. In total agreement regarding the cost to government and early detection. I am so completely over BreastScreen Australia touting early detection - yet not promoting their sevices to all eligible women and excluding women 40-49. JUST NOT CRICKET!!0 -
OMG!! @JJ70 ... I didn't realise those under 50 can be tested for free! We must spread this around - is that Australia wide?? I thought it was only from age 50 to 74 (I 'like' the 74 BTW .... why not 75 or 76 ... Did knows there are enough older ladies diagnosed as well!!)
Yes, I must admit that a helluva lot of BC IS picked up early - but it is the most easily identified, not the tricky ones.
Yep, totally NOT CRICKET .... and about 90% don't have any family history as well, so not aware it may be them - as shown by the current advertising campaign - but many will still ignore it!
Thinking it won't happen to them.
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Are you on Fabcebook @arpie? I have been running a campaign called Can at 40. Do at 45. ( @Can40Do45 ) regarding screening mammography. Awareness that it is available from 40 and we are lobbying to get the invitation letter sent out at 45, as the data shows that screen detected breast cancers DOUBLE in the 5 year age bracket of 45-49.
I have campaign postcards, business cards and t-shirts.
I have written to every health minister and the CEO of BreastScreen Australia. I am on the Consumer Reference Board at BSWA to keep them honest about their promotion of services to women 40-49. I can send you some cards!! Message me!5 -
@JJ70 and @arpie People slip through the nets. I had my regular Breastscreen QLD mammogram in Nov 2016 and received the "nothing to see here" letter - also a note that that would be my final screening with them, because I was approaching 75.
Nine months later, I found physical symptoms. At the Wesley BC, neither the mammogram nor the tomosynthesis showed anything. It took 1.5 hours of a three people ultrasounding me, to find it. Stage 2 Invasive Lobular (like 20% of BCs) - very diffuse and subtle, hard to detect. Ended up being a 12 cm tumour. And papillomas in the right.
I have dense breast tissue. My daughter and nieces have now all been off to have ultrasounds and will do so regularly.3 -
Pretty sure my 3D/tomosynthesis also didn't show mine either (as with the mammogram) - it was only the ultrasound that picked it up and even then, it was 'inconclusive' and suggested a biopsy to be sure to be sure. Have you had any other scans @Flaneuse - MRI, PET etc? I haven't, tho am tempted to ask for one, so there is something to compare it with further down the line!?
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@arpie My BS insisted on both a MRI and a CT before any treatment even started. Medicare paid it all, I didn’t even see the bill.1
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@arpie @Blossom1961 MRIs especially, CTs to a lesser extent, seem to be completely hit and miss depending on your doctor. There are no discernible guidelines as far as I can tell. It's up to your doctor. My BS is not a fan of them unless absolutely necessary.1
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Interesting, @kmakm .... have you ever asked for one, to be told 'No' - or you haven't chased it up as your BS isn't a fan?
My query is - if you don't have one at 'some stage' - how do they know what they are comparing the next one to?
We are given mammograms every 2 years 'just in case' and there is already some level of exposure to 'radiation' there .... We all have the odd dental X-ray 'in case' we have dental caries ..... so it makes sense to me to have a body scan at least once since diagnosis.
THEN - you only have others if you suspect something else is seriously wrong.
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I've never pushed for one @arpie. The professor I saw last week is also of the opinion that they can send you down the rabbit holes of unecessary worry, stress, biopsies and investigations. I've never been entitled to a subsidised one and so the cost is a big issue for me as well. All our savings are gone due to my breast cancer, there's no buffer anymore.
I'm focussing on survivorship, and with a colonoscopy coming up and the possibility of a problem being found (because of my multiple risk factors), it's something I may yet need.
I'll always be slightly uneasy, but I have to trust my doctors and move on. I've done everything possible treatment wise, to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence or new BC. I plod on.2 -
My pre-surgery CT scan did reveal spots on my liver (subsequent ultrasound revealed nothing) and thyroid (subsequent u/s revealed small nodules and I now have six-monthly u/sounds of those to monitor).1
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I must be getting stroppy in my old age ..... I've just sent this off to the Nurse Counsellor with Mid Coast Health, who had difficulty explaining why they don't advise women with dense breast tissue that they should have other tests!Many thanks for that. I just thought of something else ..... when I was trying to find a contact address/email to send my letter, I found it difficult to find one - hence I used the messaging system on Breastscreen NSW on Facebook. Maybe there needs to be a tear off section on the letter with a box to tick to be removed - with another box to indicate that they have been diagnosed, with a self addressed envelope?I understand that breast screening is actually available to women aged from 40, not 50 as most of the advertising seems to indicate? Why doesn't it show as at age 40?Just days ago on the Breast Screen NSW Facebook page it shows: "over 50? "Regular breast screening is by far the best way to pick up breast cancer in its early stages ......"Yet then says - early detection saves lives! There are MANY women between 40 & 50 who get breast cancer too, as you will knowRe the Dense Breast Tissue issue - if you ask anyone who has been diagnosed with invasive lobular cancer if they knew they had dense breasts and that the mammograms were virtually useless in identifying their condition -(white on white) most say No - they didn't know. If asked if they would have had an ultrasound or other scan if they'd known - most say yes. They are also incredibly angry that they weren't advised. It is actually malpractise by omission, as the radiographer can see it on the film when they check it on the day - and it could be a death sentence if it is not picked up til Stage 4 - as it is difficult to feel, even by hand.I wonder what would YOU do? Knowing that you had dense breast tissue and the issues around identifying cancer - I bet you would be having an ultrasound or other scans, to be sure?It is pretty obvious to me that women with moderate to high dense breast tissue need to be advised, on the assumption that invasive lobular IS already being picked up via mammogram already on the lower dense breast tissue women? Can you confirm that? But how would you know, if they are not advising you? If they are also being missed .... obviously EVERYONE with dense breast tissue needs to be advised. I'd been having mammograms for 15 years with 'clear results' every time ...... if I'd waited until my 'reminder letter' last month - it may now have been much worse, in my nodes or even stage 4 - and still not likely to be picked up by mammogram.THE WOMEN WITH DENSE BREASTS NEED TO HAVE THAT CHOICE! If they decide not to - so be it. But they need that choice to KNOW that they have dense tissue breasts.With WA already advising their clients (and now the USA - see the press release below) - why isn't Breastscreen NSW asking them how they got around that 'who do we tell' issue. Just tell all of them!This has become a bit of a hobby horse of mine & I am madly advising any women that I know - to make sure they know whether they have dense breast tissue. Mine were always called 'lumpy' - so I am assuming that is another 'term' for dense breast tissue?Can you let me know when the Computer Dept has sent the Films to my breast surgeon and my GP
BIG NEWS IN BREAST DENSITY - IF THE USA CAN DO IT, WHY CAN'T NSW & ALL THE STATES?
Recently in the US, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) now providing mandatory guidelines for the reporting breast density:
Breast density is a known risk factor for breast cancer. The breast is comprised of a mixture of milk glands, milk ducts and supportive tissue (dense) and fatty tissue (non-dense). The proportions of these tissue types vary from woman to woman.
Approximately 8% of women between 40 and 74 years of age have ‘extremely high density’ breast tissue.1 These women have a 50 to 70 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer.1 In addition, dense breast tissue appears similar to tumours on a mammogram, which can hide the presence of cancer.
It is not possible to tell the density of your breast without having a mammogram. A dense breast is not necessarily firmer, and cannot be detected by touch.
This gap in knowledge has now been addressed by the US Congress, who have directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish minimum reporting standards. Mammogram reports in the USA will now have to state:
A qualitative assessment of the individual patient’s breast density.
An explanation of the effect breast density has on hiding the presence of breast cancer on a mammogram.
A reminder to patients that they should talk with their medical care providers if they have any questions about their breast density.http://ow.ly/VDSA50mIb4I (To read more)
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