Northern NSW women still in dark over breast cancer risk

HEALTH authorities are concerned by a survey where 65 per cent of women believing they're not a risk of breast cancer because they don't have a family history

FAR too many women in Northern NSW may be unaware of their risk of breast cancer, despite the fact that nine in ten women diagnosed don't have a family history.

More than two-thirds of women (65 per cent) surveyed by the Cancer Institute NSW think they are not at risk of developing breast cancer because they don't have a family history.

BreastScreen NSW North Coast director Jane Walsh said this lack of personal susceptibility to breast cancer demonstrates the need to continue urging women locally to have a mammogram with BreastScreen NSW every two years.

"The risk is real for every woman aged 50 to 74. One in eight women in NSW will develop breast cancer in their lifetime and less than 10 per cent of them will have a family history," Ms Walsh said.

"That's why all women in this age group should be screened for breast cancer, regardless of whether they have a family history."

In 2019, it's expected more than 288 women in the Northern NSW Local Health District will be told they have breast cancer and there will be about 41 women who will die from breast cancer.

"By detecting breast cancer early, breast screening not only saves lives but also reduces the likelihood of a woman needing invasive treatment, such as a mastectomy or chemotherapy," Ms Walsh said.

"We have come a long way with cancer treatment but the reality is that the more extensive the cancer is, the more it can detrimentally affect quality of life."

The Northern NSW BreastScreen bus will be in Maclean until late August.

The mobile BreastScreen van is currently in Maclean until late August. To book a mammogram today at your nearest BreastScreen NSW service phone 132 050 or book online by visiting breastscreen.nsw.gov.au.

Originally published as Northern NSW women still in dark over breast cancer risk