Breast Cancer Screening -

Breast Cancer Screening

1 in 8 women in NSW will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
9 out of 10 women who develop breast cancer do not have a family history of breast cancer.
the five-year survival rate for women with the earliest stage of breast cancer is 98% (tumour size 0 to 10mm), compared to 73% for women whose tumour size is 30mm or greater – early detection is vital.
the aim of the WCSC is to increase the number of women aged 50 to 74 who have a screening mammogram every two years.

North Coast Breast Cancer screening rates

Visit the BreastScreen NSW website for more information about breast cancer and breast screening.

Each year the Cancer Institute NSW provides NCPHN with the “Reporting for Better Cancer Outcomes Performance Report: NCPHN”.

The data presented here is:

derived from the 2016 report, along with postcode-level data provided by Cancer Institute NSW.
from the BreastScreen service and does not capture screening via private provider. It is thought that private screening rates would not have a large effect on participation statistics.

Key points on breast screening participation rates in the North Coast region:

Women aged 50-54 have particularly poor participation rates and should be considered a priority
Postcode level analysis shows several ‘hotspot’ areas of under-screening (refer to Map 1)
Over 20% of women in Tweed and Bellingen have never screened with Breast Screen.
Of Local Government Areas with culturally and linguistically (CALD) diverse populations larger than 200, Tweed Heads, Lismore and Byron have the lowest screening rates of CALD women, and are below the state average.
Women with German, Italian and French as a first language represent populations of more than 200 woman with screening rates below 33%.

North Coast participation in women 50-69

Women 50-69 2016-17 by Local Government Area

Aboriginal Women 50-69 2016-17 by Local Government Area

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Women 50-69 2016-17 by Local Government Area

Table 1: Summary Overview

Below state average

North Coast top performing areas

Mid-range

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA NAME	Breast screen. Participation women aged 50-69 2014-15	Breast screen participation aboriginal women 50-69 2014-15	Aboriginal women population size Total: 1668	Breast screen participation CALD women 50-69 2014-15	CALD women population size Total: 2388
Ballina	62.3	40.7	103	49.7	159
Bellingen	53.8	52.5	30	34.2	88
Byron	47.2	29.9	50	46.1	228
Clarence Valley	62.4	55.6	209	68.9	125
Coffs Harbour	59.3	53.3	206	48.6	492
Kempsey	57.9	33.8	237	39.9	105
Kyogle	56.1	30.5	43	36.4	36
Lismore	59.9	46.2	139	41.9	241
Nambucca	55	42.1	119	44.7	110
Port Macquarie-Hastings	60.8	45.7	191	46.2	295
Richmond Valley	61.3	44.2	113	61.7	54
Tweed	51	57.5	226	41.5	455

Data source: Cancer Institute NSW, 2016. Reporting for Better Cancer Outcomes Performance Report 2016: North Coast Primary Health Network Internal access.

Table 2: Summary By Language Spoken, 2014-15

Culturally and linguistically diverse women’s participation

Whilst the number of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women in the NCPHN footprint is relatively low, in is clear that CALD women are screening at rates much lower than the general population.

Table 2: Language spoken by women participating in Breast Screening, 2014-15.

Language	North Coast PHN
Language	Women Screened	Population	Participation rate
English	41,527	72,073	57.8%
Tagalog	128	126	101.3%
German	124	382	32.5%
Italian	82	282	29.0%
French	69	209	33.0%
Spanish	61	125	48.7%
Cantonese	29	79	36.5%
Maltese	22	32	67.8%
Greek	20	66	30.3%
Mandarin	16	44	36.7%
Arabic	10	N/A	N/A
Hindi	9	N/A	N/A
Indonesian	7	12	56.9%
Croatian	6	26	23.3%
Serbian	5	7	74.5%
Vietnamese	2	18	11.2%