Westmead BCI takes breast screening to Stanhope Village Shopping Centre

Westmead’s Breast Cancer Institute (BCI) is continuing its efforts to offer free breast screening to busy women, setting up its mobile van at Stanhope Village Shopping Centre this month.

The BreastScreen van, staffed by female breast screening specialists, will be stationed at the shopping centre until Friday, April 7, giving eligible women the chance to have a free breast check.

It is recommended that women aged 50-74 have regular mammograms every two years.

A mammogram only takes around 15 minutes and is vital, given one in eight women in NSW will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

Nine out of 10 women who develop breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease.

Associate Professor Nirmala Pathmanathan, Director of the BCI, encouraged women to make time for their health and ensure regular screens were undertaken.

“Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Australian women, with almost 16,000 women diagnosed with cancer every year,” she said.

“Yet only half of all women in the target age group are being screened regularly in western Sydney.

“Finding breast cancers in their early stages will save lives, so we need to raise awareness about the importance of screening.”

Stanhope Village for Mirvac Retail marketing manager Lisa Curtin said the shopping centre was thrilled to host the van.

“Stanhope Village Shopping Centre is a community-based centre,” she said.

“We want to support the women in our community in the early detection of breast cancer by providing this service to our customers”.

Westmead BCI manages the BreastScreen program in western Sydney.

To book a free mammogram at the van or BreastScreen clinic, contact BreastScreen on 13 20 50.

Stanhope Village Shopping Centre is located at 2 Sentry Drive, Stanhope Gardens.