Women aged 50 to 74 are being urged to make their health a priority and book a free, life saving mammogram during breast cancer awareness month.
“We want women in South Western Sydney to make booking a breast screen a priority,’’ says Dr Patsy Soon, clinical director of BreastScreen NSW, South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Dr Soon says having a mammogram is Covid safe.
“BreastScreen NSW has implemented a range of hygiene and social distancing measures to ensure clinics and mobile screening vans are Covid-19 safe, to protect women, staff and the wider community,’’ she said.
The measures include pre-screening questions around personal health and travel and limiting the number of people in the clinic or van. Also practising social distancing and providing hand sanitiser in waiting rooms, minimal contact check-in process, wearing masks.
As part of these protocols, additional cleaning of equipment and commonly used surfaces is also undertaken.
David Currow, the chief cancer officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, says early detection is key to giving women the best chance of survival and reduce the likelihood of needing invasive treatment such as mastectomy or chemotherapy.
“In 2020 alone, it’s expected that more than 6,240 women in NSW will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 973 will die from the disease,” he said.
“While these numbers are sobering, the good news is that if detected early, women have a 98 per cent chance of survival.
“Breast screens can detect cancer as small as a grain of rice.
“Our research shows that women who receive a diagnosis as a result of regular breast screening are less likely to need a mastectomy.
“It proves that early detection is key to unlocking less invasive treatment options for patients, making it easier for them to recover, and giving them an overall better quality of life.”
An appointment with BreastScreen NSW is free, takes about 20 minutes in total and no doctor’s referral is needed.
In addition to 46 BreastScreen NSW clinics, there are 16 mobile vans that provide services to about 180 locations across NSW, including in rural and remote areas.
If you are aged 50 to 74 book your free mammogram today with BreastScreen NSW online at book.breastscreen.nsw.gov.au or by calling 13 20 50.
