October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and as public health schemes go, Australia’s breast screening program is an astonishing success.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, breast cancer mortality has decreased by an amazing 50 per cent since BreastScreen Australia began, from 74 deaths per 100,000 women aged 50–74 in 1991, to 37 deaths per 100,000 women in 2022.
That’s good news for every one of us who has had our breasts squished between two metal plates as a well-meaning nurse repeats over and over again to “get closer” to the machine despite all your natural instincts screaming to remove yourself from the pain and embarrassment.
And it’s even better news for older Australian women. In 2020, of all breast cancer cases in women aged 50–74, 46 per cent were detected through BreastScreen Australia.
Most common cancer for women
Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women, involving one in four of all cancers in women.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian women, representing 28 per cent of all female cancers diagnosed in 2020; it is second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths.
In 2022, 1404 women aged 50–74 died from breast cancer, equivalent to 38 deaths per 100,000 women in the population.
BreastScreen began in Australia in 1991 after it was noted the incidence of breast cancer was increasing at an alarmingly steady rate.
Diagnosis rose from about 180 new cases per 100,000 women aged 50–74 in 1982 to about 220 in 1990.
Incidence thereafter rose from 240 new cases in 1991 to about 300 new cases per 100,000 aged 50–74 in 2000, where it remained until the years 2013 to 2019 during which it was around 320 new cases per 100,000 women. Incidence then decreased to 300 new cases per 100,000 women aged 50–74 in 2020.
Return to screening
“It’s pleasing that this Breast Cancer Awareness Month we are seeing more women return to breast screening,” said assistant minister for health and aged care Ged Kearney.
“We know cancer screening saves lives, so it is so important women take the opportunity to have their free breast screening.
“Breast cancer will impact one in seven Australian women, and your chances of surviving are much higher when diagnosed early. So, please, check you are up to date with your breast cancer screening, and if not, book a free appointment today.
“Only two in five First Nations women are up to date with screening compared to half of non-Indigenous women. The Albanese Labor government is committed to closing this gap.”
BreastScreen Australia provides free mammograms in more than 750 locations nationally. This includes more than 37 mobile vehicles that travel to regional, rural and remote areas to ensure women in these communities can access life-saving mammograms. More than nine in 10 women live within a 20-minute drive of a screening site. Mammograms can be booked by phoning BreastScreen Australia on 13 20 50.
Have you been diagnosed with cancer after a breast screen? Why not share your experience in the comments section below?
