Mayo woman among those to raise awareness about impact of breast density on cancer
Margaret and Brendan Walsh from Hollymount.
More than 100 people gathered outside Leinster House on the 13th October to raise awareness about breast density and its impact on breast cancer detection.
Lobular Ireland is calling for mandated standardised of breast density reporting and recording for women. Inside the Seanad AV Room, Lobular Breast Cancer Ireland delivered a presentation to TDs and Senators, with Siobhan Freeney from Wexford opening the discussion.
Campaigners explained that mammograms are far less effective for women with dense breast tissue, making early detection more difficult. 43 per cent of women have dense breast tissue which makes detecting breast cancer more difficult. Dense tissue is white, and breast cancer is white, so it is like trying to find a snowflake in a snowstorm.
They highlighted that Australia, Canada, the United States, France, and Croatia have already introduced legislation requiring women to be informed of their breast density when they receive mammogram results. They are calling for similar mandatory notification in Ireland.
Elected representatives heard from three women whose diagnoses were delayed because their mammogram reports did not include information about breast density.
Hannah Fox from Wicklow described how she was eventually found to have a large tumour in her stomach caused by metastatic breast cancer. Now living with stage four cancer, she remains hopeful but believes her situation could have been avoided had she been informed of her dense breast tissue after her first mammogram.
Margaret Walsh from Hollymount in Mayo told of how her mammogram and ultrasound had been clear in February 2023 following a referral as she had a white head spot on her breast.
Two weeks later she had received a phone call requesting that she travel to Galway the next morning as her biopsy had shown something. Two lumpectomies later, she was told that she needed a single mastectomy.
She opted for a double mastectomy. Four weeks after her surgery, she was informed that a 27mm tumour had been found in the tissue when it was examined, which was shaped like a spider’s web.
It had not been detected on her mammogram or ultrasound. She was subsequently diagnosed with Stage 2 Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer. It was only after her surgery that she learned that she had dense breast tissue.
They also heard from Evan Holton, who was informed of her breast density and pushed for additional imaging. She has since been diagnosed with stage one breast cancer — the early detection outcome campaigners want for all women in Ireland.
Siobhan Freeney shared her own experience from ten years ago and her decade-long campaign for change.
A Health Technology Assessment committee was established by HIQA in 2026, but no implementation date for recommendations has been set. Campaigners are urging the Minister to introduce mandatory breast density notification without delay so women can make informed decisions about their health.
