BCRuckus was launched in response to our Executive Director Sheila Mikhail’s personal experience of having a breast cancer diagnosis that was missed by repeated mammograms due to her dense breast tissue. Sheila turned her painful experience into action by creating BCRuckus. BCRuckus seeks to increase awareness about issues pertaining to breast cancer screening and diagnosis. In particular, we seek to educate women about the importance of knowing their breast tissue density and the implications this may have on the reliability of mammography to detect tumors in dense tissue. We aim to inform women about supplemental imaging options that are able to distinguish tumors from dense breast tissue as well as to lead initiatives focused on policy changes that will make these supplemental imaging options available to women with dense breast tissue at no cost. 

Mission:

  1. To increase awareness about the limitations of mammography as a solo platform for diagnosing women with dense breast tissue
  2. To increase awareness of the prevalence  of women with dense breast tissue who would not benefit from our current standard practice
  3. To increase awareness of the available diagnostic platforms that are capable of distinguishing tumors regardless of breast tissue density with greater sensitivity
  4. To make these diagnostic modalities available and accessible to women at low or no cost ( Find it Early Act or through other means)
  5. To encourage national, professional organizations to adopt these modalities as part of their recommended guidelines for breast cancer screening and diagnosis
  6. To encourage the adoption of these modalities as part of routine follow-up for women with dense breast tissue and/or heightened breast cancer risk

Our Founder

Sheila Mikhail is very vocal about her experience with breast cancer and our cause on her LinkedIn page if you would like to learn more. 

Connect with us to discuss ways to partner or share your story

Email: kriele@bcruckus.org
Learn more about the Find it Early Act
Sign our petition to support the Find It Early Act