Eligibility for free breast screening has today been extended to women aged 70 to 74 living in Nelson Marlborough.
The region is the first in the country to access the services, ahead of a nation-wide roll-out scheduled to happen from October 2025.
Minister of Health Shane Reti was in Nelson on Thursday to announce the eligibility extension.
“It’s a real pleasure to be in Nelson, on the last day of Breast Cancer Awareness month, to celebrate a significant milestone in the extension of our free breast screening programme – the start of the roll out here in the Nelson Marlborough district.”
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora national public health services director prevention, Alana Ewe-Snow, says it’s a significant milestone for the national breast screening programme.
“The age extension starts here in the Nelson Marlborough today. Over the next five years women will continue to be eligible to screen in sites in this district to the age of 74.
“The region is covered by BreastScreen South. This provider is best placed to meet the additional demand of the extended age bracket, on top of delivering to the existing eligible breast screening age group,” she says.
BreastScreen South’s general manager Louise McCarthy says she’s delighted that more local women, including wāhine Māori and Pacific women who are more likely to get breast cancer, aged 70 to 74 will have access to extra mammograms.
“Our partnership with Te Piki Oranga, a local Māori health service provider and relationships with other stakeholders will help to improve access to breast screening for Māori and Pacific women”.
“Early detection across Nelson Marlborough will undoubtedly lead to better health outcomes – for the individual and the wider whānau and community,” Louise says
“We’re looking forward to extending our services, with the help of Pacific Radiology, and are looking to add a new location for our breast screen mobile unit at Ūkaipō, Wairau, in early 2025.”
“Around 20 lives each year are expected to be saved and around 60,000 additional women will be eligible for screening annually," Alana adds.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Aotearoa with 3,400 women diagnosed with the disease each year.
Wāhine Māori and Pacific women are more likely to get breast cancer, and more likely to die from breast cancer. The national breast screening target is 70 per cent, with the current coverage of 72.4 per cent for non-Māori non-Pacific, 67.9 per cent for Pacific peoples, and 62.6 per cent for Māori.
