"ARE YOU DENSE?" MAKES SENSE IN DRIVING AWARENESS WEEK
By: Dr. Noelle Cutter
For most of America (or the many parents), September and the fall season means "Back to School and Back to work" from a summer of exhaustive and adventurous travels. But for another audience, the cancer awareness crusaders have a dedicated calendar for awareness months where the fall season may have the most cancers represented. According to the
AACR (American Association for Cancer Research), the Fall calendar is comprised of a major set of public awareness programs promoted by dedicated cancer foundations. September's calendar alone has the following events for awareness months: Childhood Cancer, Leukemia and Lymphoma, Ovarian Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Thyroid Cancer and Uterine Cancer. Meanwhile BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH stands in October as the top event.
Recognizing the link between having Dense Breast tissue and the potential risk for Breast Cancer is what drives advocacy groups like the "Are You Dense?" Foundation. Prompting a national education project is a decades-old mission that cancer docs and patient advocates alike are in a constant search for action-plans. For the reasons why Breast Cancer continues to capture the heart of the battle within a national Awareness Month, the community now has DENSE BREAST AWARENESS WEEK as the last week if September to transition to Breast Cancer Month of October.
Recent talks of a grassroots campaign to approach colleges about Dense Breast Awareness is in the works, according to Heidi Diaz, communications consultant for the "Are You Dense?" Foundation. Additionally, more clinicians are 'joining the fight' in support of the research including Dr. Roberta Kline (OB/GYN) who applauds the recent legislation in Congress to mandate clinical communication in Mammography centers about patients' tissue density. "This is the pathway to employing other imaging solutions like a supplemental ultrasound which clearly sees through dense tissue where mammography underperforms".
National Recognition in Dense Breast Research and Awareness
WOODBURY, Conn., Sept. 15, 2023 /
PRNewswire/ -- Joseph Cappello, founder of the 'Are You Dense?' Foundation presented the first in a series of Cancer Research & Innovations awards to diagnostic imaging specialist Dr. Robert Bard (NYC). Since 1979, Dr. Bard's radiology practice spearheaded the use of ultrasound screening to complement scheduled mammograms for those with dense breast tissue. (It is noted that ultrasound scans are able to detect growths and tumors behind dense tissue, what mammograms tend to miss). At the time, no regulatory standard enforced the need for this 2nd scan, attributing to many undetected breast cancer tumors concealed by dense breast tissue.
Joseph Cappello, founder of the
"Are You Dense?" Foundation honors cancer researcher & clinical diagnostic specialist
Dr. Robert Bard (NYC) with the first Cancer Research & Innovations Award. This award recognizes clinical leadership in the advancement of early detection protocols and the improved screening of dense breast cases.
Joseph Cappello, founder of the "Are You Dense?" Foundation honors cancer researcher & clinical diagnostic specialist Dr. Robert Bard (NYC) with the first Cancer Research & Innovations Award. This award recognizes clinical leadership in the advancement of early detection protocols and the improved screening of dense breast cases.
"I learned that there are many women like me with recent normal mammogram reports with a hidden intruder stealing their life. I am on a quest to expose this best-kept secret of dense breast tissue to ensure that women with dense breast tissue receive screening and diagnostic measures to find cancer at its earliest stage - isn't that the purpose of Screening Programs?" - Dr. Nancy Cappello
"I learned that there are many women like me with recent normal mammogram reports with a hidden intruder stealing their life. I am on a quest to expose this best-kept secret of dense breast tissue to ensure that women with dense breast tissue receive screening and diagnostic measures to find cancer at its earliest stage - isn't that the purpose of Screening Programs?" - Dr. Nancy Cappello
Mr. Cappello personally presented the award with fellow executives Donna Johnson from Woodbury CT (Pres. of Are You Dense Foundation) and Marion Bradley from Beacon Falls, CT (Pres. of Are You Dense Advocacy Foundation) as a gesture of appreciation for Dr. Bard's clinical achievements.
Since 2019, Mr. Cappello's Are You Dense Advocacy Foundation succeeded in helping to pass National legislation to federally mandate breast screening centers to address the dense breast crisis with the ultrasound complement. Mr. Cappello's commitment to enforce this legislation nationally, started with his wife, the late Dr. Nancy M. Cappello who passed away due to complications with her late stage breast cancer treatment.
"Decades since the advent of breast scanning technology, a growing list of real-time innovations in non-invasive diagnostic imaging provide new options in the field of early detection", states Dr. Bard. "These technologies directly align with breast density screening that can easily complement a woman's regular mammogram. By updating the imaging process, we can safely combine diagnostic modalities and improve the assessment of disease and guide therapeutic procedures."
According to a 12/13/2022 press release,
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), and award-winning journalist Katie Couric introduced their legislation, the Find It Early Act. This bill would ensure all health insurance plans cover screening and diagnostic mammograms and breast ultrasounds and MRIs with no cost-sharing.
(See full news release)"Dr. Bard will go down in medical history as one of the earliest change-makers in our crusade to improve women's early detection programs. His innovative approach to combine technologies makes him a true visionary for the next generation of cancer professionals... by standing his ground about the crisis and aiding in (what is now) a national legislation to save more lives!", states Mr. Cappello.
THE LEGACY OF DR. NANCY CAPPELLO
In 2014, Imaging Technology News (ITN) introduced breast cancer survivor-turned-crusader Dr. Nancy Cappello and her story about having dense breast tissue leading to a late-stage cancer. A false negative mammography scan (diagnosed in 2004) concealed a large 2.5 cm suspicious lesion, which was later confirmed to be stage 3c breast cancer. Dr. Cappello created the "Are You Dense?" Foundation to better support dense breast diagnostics and to pass legislation and laws requiring mammography centers to inform patients about their breast density and the associated cancer risks. Dr. Cappello passed away on Nov 15, 2018, from secondary myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a bone marrow cancer that was a complication of her prior aggressive breast cancer treatments. Her legacy continues to help address this health crisis that puts the est. 40% of the female population (women with dense breasts) at risk of a false negative readings.
Are You Dense, Inc. pursues the national mission to educate the public about the risks and screening challenges of dense breast tissue and its impact on missed, delayed and advanced stage breast cancer to reduce advanced disease and mortality.
