ACT, NT, Queensland and Tasmania yet to include breast density reports as part of routine mammograms
Canberra woman Jenny Edwards feels very lucky.
This year her routine mammogram showed a few small white spots, prompting a call for her to come back for a better look.
A 3D scan and ultrasound found a small tumour, and also revealed Ms Edwards had high breast density.
"I had no idea I had dense breasts, [or that they] were hiding various lumps," she said.
"As well as a tumour in my left breast I had two fibroadenomas — which are other sorts of benign lumps — and in my right breast I had a cyst.
Ms Edwards is now undergoing radiation treatment, and said she was lucky those few white spots were caught at all, particularly given her dense breasts and the fact she had no known family history of breast cancer.
Breast density refers to the amount of glandular and connective tissue in the breast, compared to fatty tissue, as seen on a mammogram.
High breast density not only makes breast cancer harder to detect through routine 2D mammography, but is also an independent risk factor for developing breast cancer.
BreastScreen Australia is the national screening program, jointly funded by the federal, state and territory governments, to provide free mammograms through state-run services.
There have long been calls for BreastScreen Australia to change its national policy not to record participants' breast density, nor report it to them.
Last week, BreastScreen Australia updated its policy to recommend that everyone screened be informed in writing of their breast density, and encouraged to have further discussions with their GP about additional screening options.
But currently only New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia measure and report breast density.
Breast Cancer Network Australia's Vicki Durston said a person's access to potentially lifesaving information about their breast density and cancer risk shouldn't be dependent on where they lived.
"We need every state and territory to act now to provide this information, along with clear pathways for supporting women at higher risk.
"The progress being made elsewhere shows timely implementation is both achievable and beneficial for women."
In a statement, the ACT government said it was "working on plans to introduce recording and reporting of breast density following mammograms", but it did not have a timeline for implementation.
On their websites, BreastScreen Queensland says it's "actively working towards statewide implementation of breast density recording and reporting", while BreastScreen NT says breast density will be included in results by 2026.
Kym Berchtenbreiter, who has lived experience with breast cancer, said if she had known she had dense breasts when she received a negative mammogram result her outcome may not have been as severe.
"If I'd known that I had extremely dense breasts … I could have looked into the possibility of having supplemental screening, and perhaps my outcome might not have been as severe as it was," Ms Berchtenbreiter said.
"[Instead] within 12 months of that negative result I was subsequently diagnosed with early breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and years of hormone blocking treatment.
"But I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm still here to tell this story.
"There are others who are not that fortunate because interval cancers got missed in a screening."
Ms Berchtenbreiter said it was important to inform people of their breast density because looking for a tumour in very dense breast tissue was "a bit like looking for a polar bear in a snowstorm".
"It's vital that women are informed about their breast density, so they can make informed decisions about supplemental screening options," she said.
"We are so fortunate to have a breast screening program in Australia but let's make it even better, and save more lives, by having a national commitment to reporting breast density."
Statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) show last year 58 people were diagnosed with breast cancer every day in Australia, most of them women.
The AIHW estimated 3,272 women and 36 men — or one in nine Australians — died from breast cancer in 2024.
National Breast Cancer Foundation CEO Cleola Anderiesz said nobody could tell their own breast density.
"The size of your breast, or how firm or not firm your breast feels, doesn't give you any indication of your breast density. It has to be detected through a mammogram," Ms Anderiesz said.
"What it measures is the relative amount of dense breast tissue — so glandular and connective tissue, which actually appears white on the mammogram — compared to non-dense — or fatty — tissue, which appears dark."
She said early detection was critical to improving outcomes from a breast cancer diagnosis.
"For example if your breast cancer is diagnosed at what we call stage one, where it's still confined to your breast, your five-year survival outcomes are actually 100 per cent.
"So it's a really important thing for women to be informed about because they can then have a shared conversation with their GP or their breast specialist about their level of risk of developing breast cancer — and ultimately that knowledge is power."
Ms Edwards said her message to others who didn't know if they had dense breasts was to "go get screened".
"I've got an adult daughter who now, because of her family history, I suspect also has dense breasts.
"It would be good to know that so she can monitor things earlier than the free mammograms, which kick in at 40."
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