Siobhan Freeney, Founder of Lobular Ireland, shared on LinkedIn:
“In 2025 about 174,000 Women had Breast Screening Mammograms in Ireland – more than 73,000 of those Women will have Dense Breasts. No one will have told them. They’ll be due their next Mammogram in 2027 but again no one will tell them ‘you have Dense Breasts’
Why is this clinically relevant personal information systematically withheld from Women?
Almost half of all Women have Dense Breasts. There is medical evidence showing that knowing your Breast Density is critical because high Breast Density significantly impacts both your personal breast cancer risk and the accuracy of your Mammograms.
A shocking number of Women don’t know about Breast Density, many have never heard of it, few realise that their particular type Breast Tissue carries an elevated independent risk of developing Breast Cancer (4 – 6 times more than the average risk).
Since 2016 Women in Ireland have been campaigning for Standardised Breast Density Notification to help inform and protect themselves from the potential harms of a delayed Breast Cancer diagnosis.
It’s already too late for some of those Women. It’s too late for any Woman who has to wait until AFTER a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer to ‘find out’ that she has Mammographically Dense Breasts.
Why is this taking so long to make this information available to all Women?
In response to the then Minster for Health (NSAC_ANNUAL_CALL) in 2021, a Public Submission was made to the National Screening Advisory Committee, calling for Standardised Breast Density Notification for all Women who have Mammograms.
The public Submission wasn’t actioned until 2023 when it was passed to HIQA.
It was late 2025 before HIQA began a Health Technology Assessment to examine the feasiblity of Standardised Breast Density Notification in Ireland. HSE have said it will be end of 2027 at the earliest before they publish any report. It will be 2028 before this makes its way back to the National Screening Advisory Committee. Then who knows, how long will it be before there’s even a decision on this? There’s NO Timeline!
There is broad Political Support for the National Breast Density Campaign.
There’s been significant Media attention on the issue, in recent months.
More and more Women are discovering that their Breast Cancer was missed, diagnosed late, because it was ‘unseen’ on Mammograms in their Dense Breast Tissue.
We’re not going away.
This is not going away.
We’re calling for National Standardised Breast Density Notification since 2016. It’s a matter of personal autonomy, it’s a question of ethical consideration and early detection.
We’re calling for Your Support NOW – Aisling Hurley, Breast Cancer Ireland, Liz Yeates, Marie Keating Foundation, Nikki Gallagher, Irish Cancer Society.
Please get behind the Women who are driving this Campaign on behalf of all Women. It could be you, or your sister, your daughter, your friend or colleague.
Tell Me My Breast Density BEFORE you Tell Me I Have Breast Cancer.
We’re simply asking for information that is available from our Mammograms. Breast Density is a highly visual radiological finding on a Woman’s Mammogram and is assessed using American College of Radiology BI-RADS classification. There are 4 categories of Breast Density. C and D are considered to be Dense Breasts.
The ask is simple, one additional line of clinically relevant, potentially life-saving information on a Mammogram Results Letter that is already sent to Women Faculty of Radiologists and Radiation Oncologists RCSI.
An additional line of Information that could help to determine earliest possible Detection, node negative – Stages 1,2
or later Stage 3 and incurable Stage 4.
The difference between a Mastectomy or a Lumpectomy. The difference between Chemotherapy or not.
It’s a Woman’s Health issue, it’s a Quality of Life issue, it’s potentially a Life Saving issue.”
You can also read:
The Importance of Knowing Your Breast Density – Europa Donna
