Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) are urging 50 to 74-year-old local women to book in for mammograms as almost 40 per cent are overdue for their two-yearly screening.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Hunter's local health district is hoping more women will take the preventative measure of free breast cancer screening.
Director of BreastScreen NSW's Hunter New England screening assessment service, Olasunbo Olalere said more than 850 women in the region were expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
"For women aged 50-74, a breast screen every two years is still the best way to detect breast cancer early - before it can be seen or felt," Ms Olalere said.
"If you're aged 50 - 74, make breast screening a priority. It only takes 20 minutes and no doctor's referral is needed," she said.
In addition to mobile vans and screening clinics throughout the Hunter, HNELDH said BreastScreen Greenhills was now open with more than 1200 women visiting since July this year.
NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW Professor Tracey O'Brien said if detected early, a woman's five-year breast cancer survival rate was 98 per cent.
This drops to 43.9 per cent if detected in later stages, when it had spread to other organs, she said.
She said more than 6500 women in NSW were expected to receive a breast cancer diagnosis this year, with 1000 women expected to lose their lives to the disease in 2024.
"Early detection not only significantly increases a person's chance of survival, it can also greatly reduce the need for invasive treatment like a mastectomy," she said.
"I know how hard it can be to block out time for yourself. Unfortunately, breast cancer doesn't wait, so I encourage all eligible women to stop and put themselves first - for themselves and their family."
BreastScreen NSW said breast cancer was the most common cancer in women with age and being female as the biggest risk factors, not family history.
The organisation said women aged 50 to 74 were recommended to have a breast screen every two years while Aboriginal women were recommended to start screening at 40 years old.
"Any woman who has noticed a change in their breasts, like a lump, should see their doctor without delay," BreastScreen NSW said.
Hunter screen clinics and mobile van locations
Awabakal Primary Health Care Centre, Cnr Denison & 38a Samdon Street, Hamilton.
- Mobile van from October 21 to October 25
NBN Telethon Mater Institute, Ground Floor, Cnr Edith and Platt Streets, Waratah.
Shop C, Charmhaven Shopping Village, 201 Pacific Highway, Charmhaven.
Stockland Green Hills, 1 Molly Morgan Drive, East Maitland.
Opposite Henny Penny, Grant Street, East Maitland.
- Mobile van from December 2 to December 20.
Kurri Kurri Bowling Club, Tarro Street, Kurri Kurri
- Mobile van until October 11.
Muswellbrook PCYC, Cnr Carl Street and Market Lane, Muswellbrook
- Mobile van from 12 September to 30 October.
Soldiers Point Bowling Club, 118 Soldiers Point Road, Soldiers Point.
- Mobile van from September 23 to December 18.
For more information on free breast cancer screenings in the Hunter visit:
