❓ Dr Hames asks about the new BreastScreen WA clinic in Mandurah. The Minister for Health provides details on the clinic, breast cancer statistics, screening rates, and funding.
AnsweredQoN 567Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BREASTSCREEN WA — MANDURAH CLINIC
567. Dr K.D. HAMES to the Minister for
Health:
I understand that the minister will
be opening a new BreastScreen WA clinic on Friday. Can the minister update the
house on this important new facility?
567. Dr K.D. HAMES to the Minister for
Health:
I understand that the minister will
be opening a new BreastScreen WA clinic on Friday. Can the minister update the
house on this important new facility?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Dawesville
for his question. I suspect that that is the first question he has asked for
some time.
Dr
K.D. Hames : The second question.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : It is his second question in quite a number of years.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : There is no need to demean him.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : I was actually making an implied compliment to his long record
as a minister. The member did not quite get the subtlety.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : You didn't get the sarcasm.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : The subtlety, I said. I got the member's sarcasm, do
not worry.
This is a serious issue, and I will
be very pleased to visit Mandurah. As well as the member for Dawesville being
there, I trust that the member for Mandurah will be there for the opening of
the new BreastScreen clinic on Friday. Friday is Daffodil Day, and it is an
important day on which the Cancer Council and other organisations seek to raise
the awareness of cancer in the community and to take whatever actions we can to
try to reduce its incidence in the future. Every day, about 350 Australians are
diagnosed with cancer, and it is therefore a leading cause of death in Western Australia,
and in one way or another it has probably touched the lives of everybody in
this chamber. One in eight women in Australia will develop breast cancer in her
lifetime and, of course, as with any cancer, the best chance of successful
treatment is when it is identified early. A mammogram can detect up to 90 per
cent of breast cancers when regular screening is undertaken, increasing the
chance of finding breast cancer, sometimes when it is as small as a grain of
rice.
BreastScreen WA has come a long way since the first clinic
was opened in 1989, when 4 700 women were screened. In the last financial year,
more than 120 000 women had a screening mammogram. Nevertheless, screening
rates are still too low in Western Australia, especially in the high-risk group
of women aged between 50 and 74, where more than 75 per cent of breast cancers
are found. Nationally, the screening target is 70 per cent of women in the
appropriate age groups, but in Western Australia we are currently achieving
only about 54 per cent. We want to encourage all women over the age of 40, including
those without any symptoms, to take up BreastScreen WA's offer of a free
mammogram every two years, as is recommended.
The population in the Peel region of
women aged between 40 and 74 is expected to grow from slightly over 18 000 at
present to almost 22 000 in 2026. The new BreastScreen clinic will enable women
in Mandurah and the broader Peel region to more readily access breast screening
services throughout the year, and the mobile clinic, which has been in use in
Mandurah, will therefore be able to spend more time in regional areas in more
remote parts of the state that are experiencing greater demand, including Port
Hedland, Busselton, Broome, Geraldton and Albany.
Finally, I acknowledge the federal
government's funding contribution that has made the new Mandurah clinic
possible and, in conjunction with the state government's contribution,
has helped to fund BreastScreen WA to a total of $17.9 million in this
financial year.
for his question. I suspect that that is the first question he has asked for
some time.
Dr
K.D. Hames : The second question.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : It is his second question in quite a number of years.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : There is no need to demean him.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : I was actually making an implied compliment to his long record
as a minister. The member did not quite get the subtlety.
Mr
B.S. Wyatt : You didn't get the sarcasm.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : The subtlety, I said. I got the member's sarcasm, do
not worry.
This is a serious issue, and I will
be very pleased to visit Mandurah. As well as the member for Dawesville being
there, I trust that the member for Mandurah will be there for the opening of
the new BreastScreen clinic on Friday. Friday is Daffodil Day, and it is an
important day on which the Cancer Council and other organisations seek to raise
the awareness of cancer in the community and to take whatever actions we can to
try to reduce its incidence in the future. Every day, about 350 Australians are
diagnosed with cancer, and it is therefore a leading cause of death in Western Australia,
and in one way or another it has probably touched the lives of everybody in
this chamber. One in eight women in Australia will develop breast cancer in her
lifetime and, of course, as with any cancer, the best chance of successful
treatment is when it is identified early. A mammogram can detect up to 90 per
cent of breast cancers when regular screening is undertaken, increasing the
chance of finding breast cancer, sometimes when it is as small as a grain of
rice.
BreastScreen WA has come a long way since the first clinic
was opened in 1989, when 4 700 women were screened. In the last financial year,
more than 120 000 women had a screening mammogram. Nevertheless, screening
rates are still too low in Western Australia, especially in the high-risk group
of women aged between 50 and 74, where more than 75 per cent of breast cancers
are found. Nationally, the screening target is 70 per cent of women in the
appropriate age groups, but in Western Australia we are currently achieving
only about 54 per cent. We want to encourage all women over the age of 40, including
those without any symptoms, to take up BreastScreen WA's offer of a free
mammogram every two years, as is recommended.
The population in the Peel region of
women aged between 40 and 74 is expected to grow from slightly over 18 000 at
present to almost 22 000 in 2026. The new BreastScreen clinic will enable women
in Mandurah and the broader Peel region to more readily access breast screening
services throughout the year, and the mobile clinic, which has been in use in
Mandurah, will therefore be able to spend more time in regional areas in more
remote parts of the state that are experiencing greater demand, including Port
Hedland, Busselton, Broome, Geraldton and Albany.
Finally, I acknowledge the federal
government's funding contribution that has made the new Mandurah clinic
possible and, in conjunction with the state government's contribution,
has helped to fund BreastScreen WA to a total of $17.9 million in this
financial year.
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