For the first time ever, BreastScreen SA has performed more than 100,000 mammograms in one year.
Forty-four-year-old Melissa from Marion underwent the milestone mammogram while getting her first ever screen at the Marion Clinic.
“I was a bit nervous because you hear that it can be quite uncomfortable to have the mammogram done but once I walked in, I was made to feel at ease,” Melissa said.
“The radiologist was so comforting, and she said you might have heard it will hurt but its just pressure and it’s just a few seconds and it was. It didn’t hurt at all.”
BreastScreen SA provides free breast screens every two years to women over the age of 40, and actively targets those aged 50 to 74, with the aim of diagnosing breast cancer at an early stage, before it can be felt.
The service offers screening across 12 clinics, including eight fixed screening clinics, a pop-up clinic at Aldinga and three mobile screening units which visit more than 40 rural and remote locations every two years.
Early diagnosis can change the game
Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths in women and increases in frequency with age.
Around one in seven Australian women are diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 85, with the average age of diagnosis being 62 years old.
It is impossible to tell if you have breast cancer in the early stages, and 90 per cent of women who get breast cancer have no family history of the disease.
While most women who have further tests do not have breast cancer, between 650 and 750 cancers are diagnosed through the Assessment Clinic each year.
“It is important that women over 40 years, especially those aged 50 to 74, have a breast screen every two years to check for subtle breast tissue changes,” said BreastScreen SA Program Director, Lauren Civetta.
“If you are due for a breast screen, please make time to visit one of our 12 screening clinics for this important health check.”
“A breast screen takes as little as 15 minutes, and it can save your life by detecting breast cancer at an early stage. The earlier breast cancer is found, the easier it can be to treat.”
Since being launched in 1991, BreastScreen SA has diagnosed over 14,000 breast cancers, with around six in every 1,000 women screened, found to have breast cancer.
Providing screening services like BreastScreen SA increases the survival rate for people who have breast cancer, with research showing women who have regular screens reduce their chance of dying from breast cancer by up to 41 per cent.
Be proactive, book now
If you have noticed any unusual changes to the look and feel of your breasts, see your GP as soon as possible to have them investigated before you can have a breast screen.
Breast screening is available to women with no symptoms. To make a free appointment, go to www.breastscreen.sa.gov.au and click the ‘Book Online’ button or call BreastScreen SA on 13 20 50.
Lead image shows first-time client Melissa (centre) with BreastScreen SA Program Director Lauren Civetta (left) and BreastScreen SA Clinical Director Associate Professor Michelle Reintals (right).
