Information about breast density is an important part of breast cancer screening and ensuring early detection and treatment. That is why it will now be automatically included in a woman’s screening mammography report. Nova Scotia is the first province in Canada to use a software that assesses breast density and automatically shares results.

Until a few weeks ago, Brenda, 52, only had two mammograms — once when she turned 40 and again when she turned 50. Both came back clear.

‘We did include it in out platform and it is our intention to roll out this initiative’

But Jennie Dale explains more women need to be actively informed if their mammograms detect high density. Public awareness about how women’s breast density can affect their health has significantly improved over the last year, but there’s still much work to be done, says Jennie Dale.

Despite some gains, the fight to raise awareness was dealt a recent major blow, advocates say.Before the September provincial election, Quispamsis resident Kathy Kaufield started an online campaign in hopes party leaders would pledge to ensure New Brunswick women are informed about their breast density and the associated cancer risks.

Are you dense? It sounds offensive, but it’s a question Canadians need to be asking, say advocates of a growing awareness campaign about breast density and its relation to increased cancer risk.

A letter from 130 experts on breast cancer says new screening guidelines proposed by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care are outdated and “dangerous.”

If a Canadian wide-body jet crashed due to maintenance problems, killing all 400 people onboard, it would viewed as a national disaster and would occupy the news for weeks. If this happened each year it would be seen as an epidemic.

Canadian women should be outraged. The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health (CTF) released its latest guidelines for screening for breast cancer for women at average risk.