She advocated for better breast cancer screening. Her friends continue the fight

Advocates and friends of a Nova Scotia woman who died from stage IV breast cancer are urging the province to update its screening policy for women with dense breast tissue.

Friends of a Nova Scotia woman who died this month from stage IV breast cancer are urging the province to update its screening policy for women with dense breast tissue.

They believe if such a policy had been in place, Tanja Harrison may have caught her cancer earlier.

“We really need to see the government step up. They know the evidence is there,” said Jennie Dale, the executive director of Dense Breasts Canada, and a friend of Harrison’s.

Dense breasts can make it more difficult for mammograms to detect tumors.

Harrison, 53, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, despite the fact her most recent mammogram came back “clear.”

She shared her story on her profile page for the annual CIBC Run for the Cure fundraiser, organized by the Canadian Cancer Society.

“My last ‘clear’ regular mammogram in late 2021 missed my cancer, and my request for supplemental screening was denied, just like other NS women with dense breasts at higher risk,” she wrote in part.

She said she later felt sick, as pain spread from her back to her hip and lower rib. But her pain was dismissed by her doctor as symptoms of menopause.