Page 4765 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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further cancer development. The focus of breast screening targets and the awareness of early detection could be expanded so that breast cancer in young women is detected earlier, increasing their chances of survival and decreasing the rate of subsidiary complications. It is important to remember that the breast screening policy of the current government would have done little to help people like Kylie Minogue or Jane McGrath, the people who are now seen as the human face of breast cancer in Australia.
The US preventative task force last year departed from their longstanding recommendation that women aged 40 and older should be screened every one or two years. They now recommend breast screening for all women under 50. In Australia the BreastScreen Australia Evaluation Advisory Committee recommended to the federal Health Ministers Advisory Council that women aged 45 to 75 should be targeted, which is significantly broader than ACT Health’s target age group of 50 to 69. Recent research into the mammogram program provided in Sweden showed that breast cancer mortality for women aged 40 to 49 was significantly reduced with regular mammograms. Studies in Australia have found that providing free mammograms for the currently targeted age group of 50 to 69 years has decreased the mortality rates by 21 to 28 per cent. Imagine the results if this program was extended further.
Breast screening should form the focus of our breast cancer policy. While awareness and information on self-examination is important, research by the Medical Journal of Australia shows that screening has the highest impact on mortality rates.
Across Australia, the participation rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in screening programs is lower than among their Indigenous peers, with only 38.1 per cent of Indigenous women having received a breast screening test in the last 24 months. It can be argued that more focused and tailored programs could increase this participation rate.
It is clear that there is much more that can be done in the ACT to reach current targets and that ACT Health should consider expanding current programs to ensure a more focused and effective fight against breast cancer. It is important to acknowledge the part that passionate advocates play in bringing breast cancer to the forefront of our minds, some of whom are survivors and others who are, sadly, no longer with us. The fact that I have risen today to speak on this topic is the result of years of dedication, thousands of hours of volunteer work and an unrelenting commitment by many to change the perception of breast cancer.
Once, breast cancer was a secret women’s problem to be talked about in hushed tones; now, it is publicised and discussed on almost every level and by almost every individual. I can only imagine that those early advocates could only dream that Old Parliament House would be lit up in pink or that local AFL players would take to the field with pink ribbons around their arms. These passionate people, largely volunteers, largely removed the veil from breast cancer and gave it the level of awareness that is, sadly, all too necessary.
In the ACT we are lucky to have passionate advocates amongst us. Not only do they raise vital awareness in the community but their support for local breast cancer
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