After a confusing start to the extended breast screening programme, the good news for Nelson and Marlborough women aged 70 and 74 is that they can get free breast screening for cancer, as long as they are exactly those two ages.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora now says that women who are aged 70 on or after 1 October 2024 can book for a free screen before they turn 71 and those aged 74 can book before they turn 75.
At the end of October, Health Minister Shane Reti announced in Nelson that the Government would extend breast cancer screening to women aged 70 to 74. He said it was a commitment reinforced through Budget 2024 which delivered $31.2 million for the initiative and it would begin in Nelson-Marlborough, with a rollout around the rest of the country beginning in October next year.
But when women tried to book an appointment, they were told they were only eligible if they were 70. One woman was told that it was only a trial and women were being randomly selected. Another was told that at 72, she was no longer eligible for further free mammograms. But Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora has finally clarified eligibility for women aged 70 to 74 through the BreastScreen Aotearoa (BSA) extended programme.
National Public Health Service director prevention, Alana Ewe-Snow, says women who are 71, 72 and 73 will be eligible when they turn 74 and they book before they turn 75.
She acknowledges the breast screening extension has been confusing for women.
"We acknowledge there was some confusion in regard to the final details of the extended eligibility. We have been working at pace to deliver a rollout that fulfils the commitment and ensure as many women as possible can benefit from the change.”
Outside Nelson and Marlborough, the eligible age range remains 45 to 69 and the BSA will progressively extend the age range for free breast screening across the country from October next year in a phased approach.
Alana says delivering the age extension through a progressive rollout will give Health NZ Te Whatu Ora time to build capacity in the health sector to meet the demand of increased screens and subsequent treatment.
BreastScreen Aotearoa has been screening about 270,000 women each year and Alana says an estimated 50,000 additional screens will be completed each year once the rollout is completed in 2030-31. It is estimated the extension will save 22 lives each year, through detecting and treating cancers early. She says 60 breast cancers per year will be detected at an early, easier stage to treat with less impact on quality of life for those women.
