Posts by Jennie Dale
Krista wants other women to know the importance of being screened in the 40s
When I found a lump in my breast one evening before going to bed, it knocked me to my knees. My husband had encouraged me to visit our family physician that week because of how unusually tired I was, although I had not recognized the changes in my own body. As soon as I felt…
Read MorePatient Colleen Packer speaks to CTV Calgary about being denied a mammogram in her 40s
A routine mammogram allowed Deb’s cancer to be detected early. Now she is advocating so that all women are informed about the benefits of mammograms.
In January of 2021, I received a phone call that I had to return for another mammogram and possibly an ultrasound. I have been going for my mammograms for a long time. I never missed one appointment and they always came back normal until that day in January when they found something that looked suspicious.…
Read MoreJennifer’s doctor recommended a mammogram when she turned 40, thereby allowing for a stage 1 cancer to be detected
On January 31, 2019, I heard my doctor say, “you have breast cancer”. Say what? My eyes were wide open and filling with tears. This couldn’t be true. I had recently turned 40 and was focused on my health and wellbeing. I had lost 50lbs and was feeling the best I had in years. Getting…
Read MoreA routine mammogram led to the finding of an early-stage cancer, preventing her from needing a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
On June 10th, 2021, I went in for my routine mammogram. First thing in the morning on June 11th, I received a call from the hospital advising that further diagnostics were required as there was an area of “concern” in my right breast. A more detailed diagnostic mammogram was completed on June 25th, which was…
Read MoreErin, approaching 40, asked her GP about screening and even thought she lived in PEI, a province where women can self-refer at 40, her GP did not recommend it. Right after her 40th birthday her husband felt the lump.
I asked my GP, “At what point do I start screening for breast cancer?” I was approaching my 40th birthday and I figured that a full physical was probably something that should be reviewed. My GP’s response was that breast cancer screening and mammograms were not recommended for women until they turn 50. I passed…
Read MoreHannah had symptoms of breast cancer but stopped asking for imaging because she was continuously dismissed.
I was 27 years old, studying abroad in Hong Kong, and living on campus. My alma mater was back home in the Netherlands. I felt a lump and ignored it at first, until I felt it again three months later. The campus doctor referred me to a specialist and after an echography and biopsy, they…
Read MoreRosilene Kraft has Stage 4 breast cancer.
She was discouraged from getting a mammogram in her 40s because her doctor followed dangerous Canadian breast screening guidelines. Listen
Read MoreMammograms in her 40s were not on Shannon’s radar at all; her first mammogram led to a diagnosis of Stage 4 breast cancer.
My name is Shannon. I am 49 and I have metastatic breast cancer. When I was 47, I noticed a change in my breast. Initially, I wasn’t too concerned about it because it didn’t feel like a lump. I didn’t worry about it initially, I thought it was just premenopausal tissue changes. Then I saw…
Read MoreRosilene could self-refer in her 40s in BC but her doctor, who was following dangerous breast screening guidelines, discouraged her from having a mammogram. She was then diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.
I live in British Columbia. I am German/Brazilian and in Brazil I started to get yearly mammograms at age of 35. I was told to get them yearly because of my heterogeneously dense breasts and for often having masses, that fortunately until then had only been benign cysts. When I was transferred to the USA,…
Read More