September 28, 2018
Hundreds of women in the Nanango area are in the target age group for a breast screen but have never had a mammogram, according to the BreastScreen Queensland Toowoomba Service.
BreastScreen data shows that more than 200 women aged between 50 and 74 years living in the Nanango area haven’t accessed the lifesaving service.
The BreastScreen Queensland Toowoomba Service is hoping to remedy this, with its mobile mammogram van visiting Nanango in October and November.
Toowoomba woman Janine Hills is urging all eligible Nanango women to take advantage of this opportunity, after a BreastScreen mammogram saved her life.
“My younger sister, Noela, died from advanced metastatic breast cancer in 1987 at just 32 years of age, and before she passed she asked me to pledge to get regular breast screening,” Ms Hills said.
“I started to get regular mammograms and in the 1990s a lump was found, which – thankfully – was diagnosed as a benign adenoma.
“I continued to get regular mammograms at Toowoomba BreastScreen and the mobile BreastScreen van in Warwick, but by the time I was almost 65 I was contemplating whether I really needed to go.
“I decided to go to my next appointment anyway, and was glad that I did – my mammogram showed an abnormality and further testing confirmed I had a DCIS, a form of non-invasive breast cancer.”
Ms Hills had surgery, completed radiation treatment in early 2016 and continues to be a strong advocate of regular screening.
BreastScreen Queensland Toowoomba Service health promotion officer Alexandra Robbins-Hill said it was never too late for older women to book a mammogram.
“We actively target women from 50 to 74 years old to have two-yearly screens, as the majority of diagnosed cases fall between these age groups, but we also urge women between 40 and 49 and over 75 to come in for a free mammogram,” Ms Robbins-Hill said.
“Our BreastScreen mobile service will be located at Nanango Hospital from October 10 to November 23.”
- To schedule an appointment phone 13-20-50 or book online
