shira farber

It was an honour to testify to the Standing Committee on the Status Of Women. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the misinformation given to healthcare providers and the public on breast cancer screening. As a country, we can do the right thing and act now. @markhollandlib it's time to suspend the breast screening guidelines. With every passing day, we're allowing later stage diagnoses to occur and Cdn women to suffer needlessly #cdnpoli

Last year, our government made a historic announcement to lower the age of eligibility for self-referral for publicly funded mammograms. Starting today, if you are over the age of 40, you can self-refer for a mammogram and access the care you need sooner. news.ontario.ca/en/release/100…

Nope. The Key Takeaway is don’t screen women 40-49. “we suggest not to systematically screen with mammography” The rhetoric around personal choice contradicts what you know to be true. Family doctors adhering to @cantaskforce will talk their patients out of screening.

@cantaskforce 1/ Current science has been cast aside with dire consequences. There has been a 10% increase in the incidence of later-stage breast cancer in women in their 40s and 50s between 2011 and 2020 since the guideline came out against screening at 40.

In Canada, the percent of breast cancer cases diagnosed before age 50: 32.3% in Black, 16.6% in White; In the US, 22% in Black and 14% in White women. Median age at death in women from breast cancer: in Canada: Black 61, White 71; in the US: Black 63, White 70. @Anwilkinson

In Canada 17% BC in White and 26.3% in Black women are diagnosed at stage III and IV. Canadian age-specific mortality rate for women 40-49 in Black is 1.4x higher than White women. In US the death rate is 40% higher in Black women overall and 2X more under age 50. @Anwilkinson

In Canada, the median age at diagnosis of BC in Black women is age 56, and in White women it is 62; the peak age at diagnosis in Black women is 50, and in White women it is 65. In the USA, the median age of BC diagnosis in Black women is age 60. @Anwilkinson

This work has been submitted for publication and has been seen by @CPHA_ACSP and @cantaskforce. The incidence of BC in Black women in Canada is 102.5 and lower than White women 135.7 per 100.000. In the US it's 127.8 vs. 133.7 per 100,000 acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.33… @Anwilkinson

Expertise and common sense are needed while waiting years to decades for more research. We know screening decreases mortality from breast cancer. All women, but esp black women should be offered screening at 40. @markhollandlib @YaaraSaks @LailaGoodridge @MPJulian #cdnpoli

A stranger saved my life today & has no idea. Please help me find her so I can thank her. I’m so incredibly grateful to the woman who stopped to ask me if I was OK while sitting on someone’s big rock on their front lawn with my 2 dogs. She convinced me to call 911, she made the call, waited with me for the ambulance to arrive, then walked my dogs home while I went to the hospital by ambulance. 🚑 Her actions today saved my life. 🏥 All I know is that her name is Natalie and she lives in the @MTCouncil neighborhood in @TourismCalgary Please retweet so I can find her and thank her.