As a Canadian woman, I am very concerned and anxious about the status of breast cancer detection in Canada now. My understanding has always been that I am not in the ‘highest risk’ category because I don’t have a first degree relative family history of breast cancer. But, as I recently discovered after reading my last 2 mammogram reports, I have dense breasts. According to the Dense Breasts advocacy Facebook page, almost 1 in 2 women are in the dense breast category and they (we) actually have just as high a risk or even higher risk of developing breast cancer as having a family history.

Having dense breasts means there is more glandular and fibrous tissue than fat. On a mammogram, dense tissue appears white. Tumors also appear white. That means cancer can hide and go undetected on a mammogram. Additional imaging is required to detect cancer in dense breasts: either an Ultrasound (US) or MRI.

So, having dense breasts is another strong risk factor for breast cancer, and requires more than just a mammogram to detect cancer. Guidelines for access to US or MRI however, are different in each province. I live in Ontario and according to Ontario guidelines, US or MRI are only warranted if an abnormality was seen on the mammogram. So, I (we with dense breasts) may have a false negative mammogram and the imaging required to detect potential early cancer is being denied! This makes me SO angry!

And mammograms are not even the most reliable and sensitive method for breast cancer detection. There is also self examination for lumps (that your family doctor taught you…). I bet that I am not alone in admitting that I have no confidence in being able to detect a lump with self examination. My breasts feel lumpy all over! Before 2010 or so, breast cancer action yearly screening included a breast exam by a skilled RN along with a mammogram. That service has been removed from the annual screening visit — to save $$?

And breast exam is no longer part of your annual family doctor ‘physical’.  And by the way, yearly physicals are now every 2 years! (Don’t get me started!)  I know of a woman who 3 weeks after having a ‘normal’ mammogram, had a grapefruit size tumor detected by her family doctor on breast exam.

Also: annual reminder letters for annual screening stops at age 74, even though breast cancer risk continues to increase beyond the mid-70’s. Many women interpret the lack of letter to mean there is no need to get tested — and thus more early cancer detections missed.

So, despite more and more quality research, and the supposed emphasis on the need for early breast cancer detection — we seem to be going backwards instead of forwards in terms of actual screening.

I just learned that there are some private companies that offer US post-mammogram for a fee. (None in Ottawa though, where I live). It is good to have this option but we shouldn’t have to seek a private company for a service that should be covered by provincial health insurance.

The portable US device referenced in an earlier article posted on this Eradicate Cancer website (April 2026) sounds very promising: both inexpensive and very accessible.  But it can take so much time for research to be translated into actual clinical practice (knowledge translation). And then there may be further barriers such as jumping through the hoops of Health Canada/ provincial legislation.

In the mean time, more women will miss out on early cancer detection and more women will die.

When will governments start to focus on saving lives versus saving money?  I wonder if this were a male health issue — might things be might different?  Why do we have to do so much self advocacy?!  We shouldn’t need to have a ‘dense breast’ advocacy’ Facebook page!

Gail P. in Ottawa, Canada / May 2026