Sask. breast cancer patients, advocates call for change to new screening guidelines

Advocates for breast cancer awareness are calling for reforms to Canada’s new breast cancer screening guidelines that were released last week.

Lisa Vick was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. That’s when the 49-year-old found out she had dense breast tissue.

“I didn't know anything about it. I didn't even know there was a scale for breast density at the time," she told CTV News.

Women with dense breast tissue have a higher risk factor for breast cancer than those who have a family history of the disease, according to Dense Breasts Canada. It also said dense breast tissue is harder to detect on a mammogram.

“Mammograms are not enough for women with dense breasts. Dense tissue shows up as white on a mammogram and cancer shows up as white on a mammogram, so there's a masking effect,” said Jennie Dale, co-founder and executive director of Dense Breasts Canada.

)Source: Dense Breasts Canada)

Dale said it’s why her organization wants to see women with dense breasts undergo further screening in the form of an ultrasound.

“If you have that additional screening ultrasound, or MRI if you're high risk, then you have a better chance of catching cancer early because an ultrasound picks up an additional two to three cancers per thousand women that have been missed on mammogram,” she said.

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Dale is lobbying to change Canada’s new breast cancer guidelines released last week, which don't suggest MRIs or ultrasounds for women with dense tissue.

“Doctors follow the task force guidelines, and so women are probably going to face a tougher time now getting that additional screening,” she said.

Federal health minister Mark Holland is also calling for a review of the guidelines.

“I’ve asked the chief public health officer, Theresa Tam, to convene experts over the next 60 days to take a look at the evidence and make sure we're giving women the best advice for their health,” Holland told CTV News

Lisa Vick said it’s important for women to be properly informed so they can take better charge of their health.

“I moved on now and I’m healing and doing well and advocating now so that women can learn more about their health,” she said.

Until the guidelines are reviewed again, both Vick and Dale are urging women to become educated about breast health.

They hope that when Saskatchewan lowers the age women can get a mammogram without a doctor's referral to 40, more women can learn about their breast density.

That change is expected to start in January.