Great change for Breastscreen NSW services this month
The dense fabric can reduce the visibility of cancer in a mammography. The detection may be necessary through additional scans, such as a magnetic or ultrasound resonance imaging.
Age is the largest risk factor for breast cancer: women over the age of 50 represent over 75 % of cases. Even family history, genetic, reproductive and modifiable risk factors such as diet and exercise can increase the risk.
The Breastscreen program was introduced in 1991 To provide regular free mammographs. It is funded jointly by federal and state governments and offers more than one million scans per year.
It is recommended to women aged 50 and 74 to have a breast screen every two years, but screening is available at the age of 40. Indigenous women are recommended to start screening at 40.
An assessment of the western australia breast scan program discovered that it has reduced breast cancer victims of almost half. Despite this, the modeling partially financed by the Cancer Council Australia in 2022 found 75,000 Australian women It was expected to die from breast cancer in the next 20 years with the current age -based approach.
In a Recent article and a scientific documentThe associate professor of the Daffodil Center Carolyn Nickson, with others, supported a transition from screening based on age to a personal risk model.
This idea and others are considered by the screening of the Federal Government Review of policies and funding.
The breast scanning program is for women without symptoms. Women who notice a change in the breast, like a lump, should see their doctor immediately.
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