This text is a translation of content from CTV News.
“The doctor asked me if I had a family history of breast cancer. I lied to him and said yes, that both my aunts had breast cancer.” That lie ultimately led to a mammogram and a shocking diagnosis in February.
Speaking to CTV News from her home in Oshawa, Ontario, Lone explained that “the subtype (of breast cancer) that I have is triple negative, it’s the most common type of breast cancer aggressive. When my oncologist heard my story, she said, ‘You just saved your own life, you know that?’
Next week, Ontario will join British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada in giving women aged 40 a mammogram if they request one. In Alberta and Manitoba, the minimum age is 45. Quebec is reviewing its policy.
But at 38, Lone wouldn’t have been able to get a mammogram anywhere else in the country. Before being diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, Lone had no symptoms. A physical examination by a doctor revealed nothing.
In her personal and professional life as an educational assistant, Lone says she kept meeting younger and younger women with breast cancer. Something inside her kept her going back to the doctor to get checked out, she said.
“I think if I had waited until I was 40, I would be dead by now. I don’t think I would be sitting here. You wouldn’t be interviewing me.”
Sidra Lone, breast cancer patient
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A recent study found that over the past three decades, the number of breast cancer diagnoses increased by 12.5% among women in their 30s. Dr. Jean Seely is one of the researchers behind this study. She said although 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.
“We should judge each case individually. We are not going to recommend widespread screening within the population, but we should not deny women the opportunity to have a screening mammogram if they really want to,” says the doctor.
Ontario’s health minister’s office told CTV News that lowering the age for self-administered mammograms from 50 to 40 will “enable 305,000 more Ontarians to access important services.” screening, which will ensure that breast cancer is detected and treated earlier.
Dr. Seely is quick to point out that while mammograms save lives, they are not perfect. They can detect many types of cancer, but this can be a challenge for young women with “dense breasts.”
“If we have women with dense breast tissue, or women with a strong family history and dense breast tissue, we should include them in the high-risk screening program. That means they have to have a mammogram and an MRI or ultrasound,” Dr. Seely said.
Lone, who was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, believes more needs to be done to help women under 40, like her.
“I don’t want to lie, but I want the health system to look into my case,” she says.
Since speaking out, the 38-year-old says she has received hate messages from people claiming she jumped the line to get a mammogram and accusing her of lying. Ms. Lone’s message to these people is: “We must raise our voices to save our lives.”
