Siobhán Freeney

Patient Advocate
Founder – BeingDense.Com, Ireland

In 2015, I was diagnosed with Stage 3c Invasive Breast Cancer only 6 months following my most recent Breast Cancer Screening Mammogram. The Tumour was 7cm at diagnosis. A retrospective review of my radiology showed that the tumor was not seen on my imaging, and I was to eventually be told that the Cancer was ‘unseen’ because I had Dense Breasts. I had been having regular Mammograms. I had never heard of Breast Density, and no one had ever mentioned Dense Breasts to me. Had I been told that I had Dense Breasts, I would have had additional imaging with Ultrasound or MRI, and my tumor would have been found earlier when I could have avoided such harsh treatment and surgery. I had eight rounds of dose-dense chemotherapy followed by a mastectomy, a full axillary lymph node dissection, and 30 rounds of radiotherapy.

Dense Breasts are an independent risk factor for developing Breast Cancer, and we know that 50% of Breast Cancers are missed in Dense Breasts. Young women 40 years and younger have biologically Dense Breasts; in fact, 40% of all women have Dense Breasts. In 2016, I founded a non-profit organization, “beingdense.com” (www.Beingdense.com).

Currently, women in Europe are not routinely notified when their mammogram determines that they have Dense Breasts. It has become a critical Patient Advocacy for women in relation to Breast Density, associated risk factors, and early detection / improved screening for Breast Cancer. I’m a passionate advocate for introducing the Standardised Breast Density Reporting Protocol for all European women who have Mammograms. The European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) recommends this as of March 2022. It is vital that we, as Breast Cancer Patients and Advocates, engage with Policy makers and with our Breast Cancer Clinicians and Radiology partners to bring about these changes.