by Linda Hansen
I found the lump that was Stage IV metastatic breast cancer just five weeks after a “clean” mammogram. And I was mad. How could metastatic breast cancer be missed on a mammogram?
I spent that first year going through surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, but in the back of my mind, the question remained. How was my breast cancer missed on my annual mammograms?
A couple of years later I began to look for answers on the internet. I learned that half of women over the age of 40 have dense breast tissue, and dense breast tissue makes it difficult to diagnose breast cancer with a mammogram. I knew that I had dense breast tissue, but no one ever explained that I should get additional tests to determine if I was the one in eight women who get breast cancer, and no one ever told me that women with dense breast tissue are more likely than others to get breast cancer.
I decided to do something about the issue that caused the delay in diagnosing my breast cancer. That’s when I learned that WBCC was ahead of me. After my breast cancer diagnosis Wisconsin enacted a law requiring physicians to tell their mammogram patients with dense breasts that they were at a higher risk for breast cancer, and because it will be more difficult to diagnose their breast cancer, they should discuss their options with their physician.
Not only did the law change exactly as I hoped, but WBCC took additional steps to try to make sure that all women with dense breast tissue could get any subsequent tests recommended by their physician. I joined WBCC and have worked with WBCC to try to get the law changed so that women without financial resources get the same treatment as women with good insurance and enough money to pay for the subsequent tests.
WBCC works hard to provide information about breast cancer in its collaboration with other breast cancer organizations, it also fights to make sure that the laws provide for the needs of breast cancer patient. Wisconsin has no other organization that meets these needs. Please donate to WBCC so it can go on doing this important work. I’ll be donating.
Linda Hansen is a breast cancer advocate and WBCC Policy Committee member.