Australian women are being urged to recognise the importance of screening for the early detection of breast cancer. It is also vital that previous sufferers of the disease have regular checks for secondary stages of breast cancer.
Senator Judith Adams is a former sufferer of early breast cancer and is now undergoing continual chemotherapy treatment for metastatic breast cancer.
Metastatic breast cancer was at one time almost a guaranteed death sentence, however it can now be controlled with modern drugs to increase the life expectancies of diagnosed women. It allows women like Senator Adams to live with cancer and to be treated as any other person with a chronic disease.
Senator Adams has called on the Government to guarantee funding to increase the age range of the national breast screen program and to bring on line new digital mammography screening machines as quickly as possible.
More resources are also needed to attract people to the radiography profession to rectify the problem of a shortfall of radiographers, which is seriously impacting the national breast screen program.
"I cannot stress more the importance of Australian women having regular checks for breast cancer. It may strike you when you least expect it and early diagnosis is the best chance of surviving the disease," said Senator Adams.
"The national screening program run by Breast Screen Australia is the best way for Australian women to screen for early detection of breast cancer. The Government must increase funding for the program to enable all age groups of women who are at risk of the disease, to be invited for screening."
"It is vital that extra resources are added to this program so that younger and older women are not excluded."
"Breast Screen Australia is a highly successful and cost effective program but more needs to be done. A shortage of radiographers must also be addressed to ensure the program can be run to its full capacity," said Senator Adams.
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