Women are being urged to look, feel and learn about their breasts, with Cancer Council research revealing a 37 per cent decrease in cancer screenings during COVID-19.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now, as part of breast cancer awareness month, the McGrath Foundation is calling on more women to be hands on and take care of their pair.
For breast care nurse Kate Wells, helping women become empowered through their cancer journey is a key part of her job.
That, along with providing emotional support through what can often be a scary and uncertain time.
With early detection of breast cancer providing the best chance of effective treatment, Ms Wells said it was vital women took their health into their own hands.
"We want to encourage women to be really breast aware. To look, feel and learn about what's normal in your own breasts and notice any changes," she said.
"Then, you need to see your GP straight away and have those changes investigated, but also to attend the regular breast screening every two years.
Breast screens can detect 90 per cent of breast cancers before you can actually feel them yourself. So it's really important. It's a free service and you can self-refer."
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in Australia, with one in seven women diagnosed in their lifetime. With many women putting off seeing a GP during the pandemic, it's estimated thousands could have gone without an early cancer diagnosis.
Ms Wells said there was still a lot of fear and anxiety around breast cancer, even though significant progress had been made.
"I think a lot of women think because in the past breast cancers were detected a lot later, the outcomes weren't as good. But we have come a very long way in the care for women with breast cancer and the treatments available," she said.
"With screenings, we are picking things up a lot earlier and we get really great results, if we can treat early. Through my work, it's really satisfying to be able to help women to help reduce their anxieties around what they are facing.
"To be able to give them a positive pathway through what they're going through and to see them become empowered through their own care is a really lovely thing."
Symptoms to look for include lumps, pain and thickening of the skin. For more information visit mcgrathfoundation.com.au.
Sign up to one of our newsletters:
Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
