October 2009

  • Breast cancer is the most common cancer among New Zealand women, with more than 2500 new cases expected this year - also approximately 20 men will be diagnosed1.

  • More than 600 women will die from the disease this year - making it the leading cause of cancer-related death in females.

  • 1 in 9 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime2.

  • 90-95% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

  • Getting older is the most common risk factor: over 70% of new cases are among women 50years and over.

  • Women of all ages, especially those over the age of 40 years, need to be ‘breast aware'.

In being ‘breast aware' women should:
·  Know what is normal for them
·  Know what changes to look and feel for
·  Report changes without delay to their family doctor
·  Attend mammography screening if appropriate for their age

Changes in the breast that may indicate cancer:
·  A new lump or thickening
·  A change in the breast shape or size
·  Pain in the breast that is unusual
·  Puckering or dimpling of the skin
·  Any change in one nipple, such as:
- a turned-in (inverted) nipple
- a discharge that occurs without squeezing
·  A rash or reddening of the skin that appears only on the breast3

  • Early detection of breast cancer increases a woman's chance of survival. Today, close to 85% of NZ women diagnosed with breast cancer will survive 5 years or more, and the death rate has decreased by nearly 24% between1995-20054.

  • New Zealand's free, nationwide breast screening programme, BreastScreen Aotearoa, checks women with no breast cancer symptoms - ‘well' women - for early breast cancer between 45-69 years of age with a screening mammogram every two years.

  • Screening mammograms do not stop the development of breast cancer, but do reduce the chance of dying from breast cancer by approximately 33%5.

  • Thermography is ineffective as a breast cancer screening tool or breast cancer diagnostic tool6.

  • Breast cancer occurs with equal frequency in Maori and Non-Maori women. However, Maori women are nearly twice as likely to die from the disease as non-Maori; one important reason for this is they are presenting with breast cancer at a later stage of disease. The reasons for their presenting late are complex, but are shown by the low rate of attendance by Maori women for screening mammograms7.

  • Pacific women in NZ are 20% more likely to die of breast cancer than other NZ women8.


References-September 2009

1. Ministry of Health (2008). Cancer New Registrations and Deaths 2005, pp. 18-19. Wellington: MOH.

2. Ministry of Health/NZHIS/BSA (2007). Personal communication. Personal Communication: Bercinskas,
L (2007) and Childs, J.(2009)

3. The National Screening Unit, the Cancer Society of New Zealand and The New Zealand Breast Cancer
Foundation (2008, Oct). Position Statement on Breast Awareness.. Ministry of Health: Wellington.

4. Ministry of Health (2008). Cancer New Registrations and Deaths 2005, p.35 Wellington: MOH.

5. Ministry of Health/NZHIS (2006). Data is average for 1996-2000 mortality.

6. The National Screening Unit, the Cancer Society of New Zealand and The New Zealand Breast Cancer
Foundation (2005, Jan). Position Statement: The use of thermography as a breast screening or
diagnostic tool. Ministry of Health: Wellington.

7. Cancer Control Council of NZ (Nov 2008). Mapping Progress 11: Phase 1 of the Cancer Council
Strategy Action Plan 2005-2010. p. 32. Wellington: Cancer Control Council of NZ.

8. Ministry of Health/Breast Screen Aotearoa (2009). Retrieved from the internet
www.breastscreen.govt.nz on 11 March 2009


Remember - early detection saves breasts and lives



 
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