When a woman in Louisiana has a mammogram or breast ultrasound, she typically waits for a phone call from her doctor. She’ll either get the all-clear, or -- if something is spotted -- be told to come in for further tests. One Louisiana breast cancer survivor is asking state lawmakers for women to get more information up front.
"In May of 2013, while performing self-examination, I located a large, hard, flat spot in my upper-right breast," Monica Helo told lawmakers.
Three weeks later she had her annual mammogram. A subsequent biopsy determined she had Stage 3 breast cancer.
She went to MD Anderson for treatment. That’s when she found out about her previous mammogram reports.
"I didn’t know about my 2009 report, which indicated 'two benign-appearing masses in my upper right breast' until 2013. These masses were not followed up on or mentioned in my 2010, 2011, or 2012 reports," she explained.
Those two masses were not benign. And had she known about the report in 2009, Helo says she would have insisted on a biopsy, and there would have been follow-up then.
Louisiana Rep. Jack Montoucet is shepherding a bill to give patients like Helo full access to their mammogram and breast ultrasound reports -- the actual narrative, like the one that was written up based on Helo's scan in 2009, but not shared with her.
Twenty-one other states have adopted similar legislation. Texas started it in 2011 with “Henda’s Law.”
"Knowledge is power," Helo said.
Louisiana’s bill to provide that is up on the Senate floor this week for final approval.
CORRECTION: Connecticut, with legislation passed in 2009, was the first state to require that women with dense breasts be notified of that following a mammogram. Twenty-two states preceded Louisiana in approving such a requirement, including Texas with Henda's Law. Those state laws do not necessarily require patients receive a full narrative report of their breast screening.