Women urged to put breast density knowledge at the top of their Christmas list
December 11, 2024Micrima, a Bristol-based health tech company, is urging women to give themselves the gift of prioritising knowledge of their breast density this Christmas.
Dense breast tissue is a relatively unknown but common breast cancer risk factor, which additionally makes it harder to screen for cancer. Micrima calculates that as many as 23.8 million women do not know their breast density, and are therefore vulnerable to cancer being left undetected.
Women are being asked to take the following steps:
- Read up about breast density from a reliable, professional source
- Discuss breast health with your female relatives to establish genetic patterns
- Ask about your breast density when you’re called for a mammogram
- Raise breast density with your GP and speak up about any concerns
These steps are being recommended in the hope that the most appropriate and effective screening approach will then be taken, tailored to a woman’s unique breast composition. This has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives lost to the late detection of breast cancer.
Adrian Waller, Micrima CEO, says:“This Christmas, women can give themselves a powerful gift: knowledge about breast density and asking for their own reading.
“If we want more positive outcomes for breast cancer, women need to be armed with information. Sadly, it is now up to women to advocate for themselves, in the absence of UK ruling requiring healthcare providers to share breast density information.
“By simply understanding and asking about their own breast density, women have the collective power to improve the outcomes for breast cancer nationally, and for the long term. This is what we have seen in the US, where the FDA has finally ruled for all women to receive their breast density reading with mammogram results.
“My Christmas wish is for the UK to stop ignoring breast density to ensure better outcomes for women and, crucially, fewer lives lost.”