Cynthia Balfour said it was unlikely she would still be skiing today if she had not had a chance bone density scan about 12 years ago.
Aside from a fracture, a bone density scan was the only way to diagnose osteoporosis and Osteoporosis New Zealand executive director Julia Gallagher said there was an "alarming discrepancy" in access to free bone density scans around New Zealand.
At Dunedin Hospital, where the bone densiotometry service is a joint venture between the Dunedin School of Medicine at the University of Otago and the Otago District Health Board, some patients pay $75 for a scan and some get them free.
Those referred by family doctors and private specialists and rural hospitals pay, while those who are referred from board hospital-based doctors and specialists do not.
In the last financial year, 1262 scans were done by the service, 560 of which were funded by the board and 702 which were privately funded.
Bone scanning is also carried out by private provider Otago Radiology where it costs patients $115.
Ms Gallagher said scan payments were a lot of money to people on a pension.
"The inability to effectively diagnose osteoporosis is costing the country billions of dollars and causing pain and suffering to thousands."
University of Otago Assoc Prof Patrick Manning said un-diagnosed osteoporosis would steadily get worse, whereas appropriate medication following diagnosis with a bone density scan halted the progress of the disease and significantly reduced the risk of fracture.
Compounding the issue was the fact people were not eligible for certain osteoporosis medications unless they had had a bone density scan.
"In a way it creates a barrier to get on this medication for certain people who cannot afford [a scan]."
Mrs Balfour said she had no idea she had osteoporosis until a medical specialist she was seeing about a different health issue, mentioned she might want to have a scan.
"The next thing she is telephoning me and saying, `You've got osteoporosis badly'."
However, medication along with daily fitness and strength training - weights and pilates - have kept the disease at bay, she said.
Her first scan was free, but she had paid for follow-up ones.
She has not had any fractures due to osteoporosis and doctors have now told her she is going so well she does not need to have any more bone density scans to monitor her osteoporosis.
"I think more women would have scans if it wasn't so expensive.
A lot of other tests are free, so why not this one?"Ms Gallagher said osteoporosis was a disease people did not have to suffer from and the organisation was calling for a government review.
At present, about 7000 bone scans were contracted by district health boards, but it was estimated there were 11 times as many osteoporotic fractures every year.
The impact of osteoporosis was far greater than many other high profile conditions, including breast and prostate cancers, yet many osteoporotic fractures were preventable, she said.
