It’s been 12 years since Lismore’s ex-mayor Jenny Dowell was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, she’s been given the all-clear from cancer and she says it’s as if she’s never even had it before. 

So, Jenny went back to BreastScreen recently for her yearly mammogram check on her one remaining breast – and encourages all women – particularly those over 50 – to do the same.

“It was good be back in a caring environment at BreastScreen, knowing I have as little or much chance of getting it a second time as anyone who’s never had it before,” she said.

“It’s really important to get checked regularly. Early detection is your best insurance.

Covid effect

“The worry at the moment is that the Covid lockdown closed BreastScreen for a while and a lot of women due to have their mammograms put them off. So, now BreastScreen has opened up more appointments to deal with the backlog.”

With October being breast cancer awareness month, Jenny hopes that women seeing the pink notices around town will encourage them to get tested.

“I’ve had mammograms since I was in my 30s,” Jenny said. “I often found lumps in my breast that turns out to be fatty cysts – not cancer.”

Breast lumps

Jenny said it was important to get to know your breasts and know its lumps – so you can detect if anything changes.

She said when she was diagnoses with breast cancer, she wasn’t actually able to feel the lump in her breast that the mammogram showed up for her. 

“All I felt was just a pin prick pain when I reached over to turn off the bedside light,” she said. “Even the surgeon said nothing the pain had nothing to do with the lump. But when the surgery was done to remove the breast, the lump was found to be pressing on a nerve - so the pain was relevant but no one knew – and it was only weeks before my yearly mammogram was due.”

Biggest risks

Jenny said the biggest risks to getting breast cancer were being a woman and being over 50. 

“About one in eight women get it, but it’s quite common to have it recover,” she said.

“More than 80% of breast cancer can be treated successfully. I got all clear at ten years.”

Jenny’s advice is to get checked and don’t put it off.

“Thirty seconds of discomfort is worth it,” she said. “My last one didn’t hurt at all.”

Covid-safe measures

BreastScreen NSW North Coast Director Jane Walsh said BreastScreen has implemented a range of hygiene and social distancing measures to ensure clinics and mobile screening vans are COVID-19 safe, to protect women, staff and the wider community.” 

The measures include: 

• Pre-screening questions around personal health and travel 

• Limiting the number of people in the clinic/van 

• Practising social distancing and providing hand sanitiser in waiting rooms 

• A minimal contact check-in process 

• Wearing masks 

• Additional cleaning of equipment and commonly used surfaces. 

Facts

Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW, Professor David Currow said early detection is key to giving women the best chance of survival and reduces the likelihood of needing invasive treatment, such as mastectomy or chemotherapy.  

“In 2020 alone, it’s expected that more than 6,240 women in NSW will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 973 will die from the disease,” Professor Currow said. 

“While these numbers are sobering, the good news is that if detected early, women have a 98 per cent chance of survival. 

“Breast screens can detect cancer as small as a grain of rice. Our research shows that women who receive a diagnosis as a result of regular breast screening are less likely to need a mastectomy. It proves that early detection is key to unlocking less invasive treatment options for patients, making it easier for them to recover, and giving them an overall better quality of life.”  

Book one now

An appointment with BreastScreen NSW is free, takes about 20 minutes in total and no doctor’s referral is needed. If you are aged 50 to 74 book your free mammogram today with BreastScreen NSW online at book.breastscreen.nsw.gov.au or by calling 13 20 50.