Page 4761 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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program. This does not include women who choose to be screened in the private sector. The detection rate of the ACT breast screen program for small or all-size invasive breast cancers in the target women was higher than the aims for the national accreditation standard and higher than that for the Australian detection rate. During 1996 to 2003, the ACT breast screen program had high program sensitivity—that is, 90 to 95 per cent—indicating that few cancers are missed by screening.
Depending on the type of breast cancer and its severity, treatment ranges from surgery to removal of all or part of the breast and surrounding lymph nodes, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. During 1997 to 2008, of the breast cancer patients who had invasive cancer and who underwent surgery in the ACT and south-east New South Wales region, about half had mastectomies—that is, 53 per cent—and the rest had breast conserving surgery—that is, 47 per cent. Over 90 per cent of these patients received additional treatment such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation therapy and immunotherapy. Most of the small-size invasive breast cancers were detected by the breast screen program—that is, 50 per cent. Detection by other mammogram screening programs was 16 per cent and/or patient self-examination, 29 per cent.
As I have said, in the absence of prevention, early detection is vital. BreastScreen ACT South East New South Wales is a population-based screening program aimed at detecting abnormalities early for well women over the age of 40 and targeted specifically to women in the 50 to 69 year age group. This is a vital service, as breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer for women in the ACT as well as women Australia-wide.
Early detection of breast cancer can improve the chances of successful treatment and recovery and can result in greater treatment options for women. Early detection is also important in lowering the potential need for more aggressive surgical procedures. Research has shown that regular screening of women in the target age group of 50 to 69 years has been effective in reducing deaths from breast cancer through early detection.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report of May 2008 shows that in 2005 more than half of the invasive breast cancers detected through the breast screening program were small diameter cancers. The ACT Health annual report for 2009-10 shows that BreastScreen ACT South East New South Wales exceeded their target of 12,000 screens by 999 screens—over target by eight per cent. The report states that the higher numbers are a reflection of the ongoing strong demand for breast screening services.
I would like to congratulate the government and ACT Health on all their initiatives over the past few years in relation to services that support detection and treatment of breast cancer. These initiatives include the upgrade of the BreastScreen ACT and South East New South Wales mammogram X-ray machines from analogue to digital machines, which I understand provides lower dose screening and higher quality images that can be transferred and viewed electronically by clinics and other medical professionals.
Another fantastic initiative is the new diagnostic breast imaging service which was officially launched this month. Run through the Canberra Hospital medical imaging
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