Clare women to lobby Oireachtas for mandatory breast‑density reporting

A group of Clare women, including breast cancer survivors Kate Healy of Cratloe and Lorraine White of Ruan, will lobby Oireachtas members on Tuesday, 13 October, to demand mandatory breast‑density reporting after all mammograms.

The delegation, also comprising Noreen Keogh, Helen Wixted and Patricia Ryan from Sixmilebridge, will gather outside Leinster House from 10.30 am with placards and banners. They will present a Lobular Breast Cancer Ireland petition bearing more than 10,000 signatures calling for legislation to introduce breast‑density reporting for all women.

Research estimates that 43 % of the annual breast‑cancer screening population have dense breasts, and about half of cancers are missed on mammograms in these women because both cancer and dense tissue appear white on the image.

Women have been campaigning on this issue in Ireland since 2016. Healy noted that while mandatory reporting will not prevent one in eight women developing breast cancer, earlier detection improves outcomes. She contrasted Ireland’s timeline with the United States, where mandatory reporting began in 2024.

The Health Assessment Technology Committee, set up after a 2021 submission by Lobular Breast Cancer Ireland, is not expected to report until 2028. Its remit includes breast‑density reporting, supplementary screening for dense‑breasted women, and extending BreastCheck to the 40‑49 age group.

Healy stressed that all women, whether in the public or private system, should receive density information, describing the current situation as “unfair and unethical.” She argued that even interim mandatory reporting could reduce the need for intensive treatments such as chemotherapy and mastectomy.

Source: Clare Champion. Photo: cottonbro studio / Pexels.