When an Ontario doctor refused to sign off on a mammogram for 38-year-old Sidra Lone, the mother of four says she was left with no choice but to lie.
鈥淭he doctor, she asked me, 鈥楧o you have a family history鈥� (of breast cancer)?鈥� I lied to her and said I do, 鈥榤y two aunts have breast cancer.鈥欌��
That lie finally led to a mammogram and a shocking diagnosis in February.
Speaking to 麻豆传媒 from her home in Oshawa, Ont., Lone shared that 鈥渢he subtype (of breast cancer) I have is triple negative, it鈥檚 the aggressive type of breast cancer. When my oncologist heard my story she said to me, 鈥榊ou just saved your own life do you know that?鈥欌��
Next week, Ontario will join BC, Saskatchewan, and Atlantic Canada in granting women as young as 40 a mammogram if they request one. In Alberta and Manitoba, the minimum age is 45. Quebec is currently reviewing its policy.
But at 38, Lone wouldn't have qualified anywhere in the country for a mammogram. Before she was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, Lone didn鈥檛 have any symptoms. A physical inspection by a doctor revealed nothing.
In her personal and professional life as an educational assistant, Lone says she kept meeting younger and younger women who had breast cancer. Something inside of her was pushing her to go back to the doctor to get checked, she said.
鈥淚 think if I would have waited until I was 40, I would have been dead by now. I don't think I'd be sitting here. You wouldn't be interviewing me,鈥� said Lone.
A recent study has revealed that over the last three decades, there has been a 12.5 per cent increase in breast cancer diagnoses for women in their 30s. Dr. Jean Seely is one of the researchers behind the study. She says that, while breast cancer rates among women under 40 without symptoms or a family history of cancer are relatively low, mammograms should be available to people who request them.
鈥淲e should be judging each case individually. We鈥檙e not going to recommend widespread population-based screening, but we shouldn't be denying women the opportunity to get a screened mammogram if they really choose to have that,鈥� says Seely.
The Ontario Minister of Health鈥檚 office told 麻豆传媒 in a statement that by lowering the age of self-referred mammograms from 50 to 40 they 鈥渨ill connect an additional 305,000 Ontarians to important screening services, ensuring breast cancer is detected and treated sooner.鈥�
Dr. Seely is quick to point out that while mammograms do save lives, they鈥檙e not perfect. They can pick up many different types of cancer, but it can be a challenge for younger women with 鈥渄ense breasts.鈥�
鈥淚f we have women with dense breast tissue, or we have women with a strong family history and dense breast tissue, we should be putting them in the high-risk screening program. Which means they should get the mammography plus an MRI or ultrasound,鈥� Dr. Seely said.
Lone, who鈥檚 been diagnosed with stage two breast cancer, believes more must be done to help women, such as herself, under the age of 40.
鈥淚鈥檓 not advocating lying, but I鈥檓 advocating that the health system should look into my case,鈥� says Lone.
Since speaking out, the 38-year-old says she's received hate-filled messages from individuals claiming she jumped the line to get a mammogram and chastising her for lying. Lone's message to those people is, 鈥淲e must raise our voices to save our lives.鈥�
