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Breast Density Reporting Urged by Lobular Ireland Founder Siobhan Freeney

Siobhan Freeney/X

Apr 19, 2025, 20:25

Breast Density Reporting Urged by Lobular Ireland Founder Siobhan Freeney

Siobhan Freeney, Founder at Lobular Ireland, shared the following insightful post on LinkedIn:

“Women in Ireland are not routinely notified when their Mammograms indicate that they have Dense Breasts.

Almost half of our Breast Cancer Screening Population have Dense Breasts (43%)

Breast cancer can be missed on Mammograms of women who have Dense Breasts, Breast Cancer appears as white areas on a Mammogram and Breast Density also appears as white. White on white is incredibly hard to differentiate. This ‘Masking Effect’ is likened to ‘Looking for a Snow Ball in a Snow Storm.’

Up to 50% of Breast Cancers are missed in Dense Breasts.

In 2024 the FDA introduced Legislation making it mandatory that all Women in USA are told if they have Dense Breasts or Non Dense Breasts, along with their Screening Mammogram results. Across Canada, most of Australia and in several European countries, Breast Density Reporting is now routine.

The request form below was designed to help women make their own request for their Breast Density. It’s written in lay language, it’s evidence based and includes relevant information with scientific references and radiology images.

We’re calling on the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD to mandate for Nationwide Breast Density Reporting for Women who have Mammograms in Ireland.

Meanwhile, we encourage all women to have their Mammograms, to fill out the information and make the request using this form.”

This post by Siobhan Freeney highlights an urgent patient advocacy issue in Ireland: the lack of routine breast density reporting. With nearly 43% of women in Ireland’s breast cancer screening population having dense breasts, vital information about their health risks may be withheld. Freeney draws attention to how other countries, including the USA, Canada, Australia, and several in Europe, have already mandated such reporting. Her advocacy calls on Irish health leaders to follow suit, promoting transparency and earlier detection for women at higher risk.

See more posts related Breast Cancer on OncoDaily:

breast cancer awareness breast cancer screening breast density reporting cancer Dense Breasts Ireland health policy mammography accuracy OncoDaily Oncology Patient Advocacy Siobhan Freeney

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