For the two-year period as at October 2022, 62.9 per cent of those eligible in the Bay of Plenty got screened. The Lakes district percentage was 65.2. Auckland district had the lowest at 51 per cent and South Canterbury had the highest at 75.7 per cent.
It comes as the Breast Cancer Foundation is fundraising for a new pink campervan, which allows its team of specialist breast nurses to reach more women in the country’s most isolated and rural communities.
Wineti-Guptill, who got information from the campervan, is encouraging others to do the same and “get educated”.
“Don’t just put it off ... I was very much that person too [thinking] I don’t have time for that. If it wasn’t for whānau ... I definitely would have had a different outcome.”
Following her diagnosis, in September 2020, Wineti-Guptill had a mastectomy and breast reconstruction.
As the cancer was caught early, she did not have to undergo “aggressive” treatment options such as chemotherapy or radiation, she said.
Instead, she was able to go on treatment medication for five years after her surgery.
Wineti-Guptill is married and has two children, aged 11 and 25.
“Without that awhi, that love and support from them [her whānau], it’s a really tough one. So I’ve got them to thank for it too.”
Wineti-Guptill works at a school in Kawerau as an educational support person for tamariki, and says life was “absolutely” back to normal now.
But she wants to encourage women to prioritise their mammograms and says she is “very lucky” the breast cancer screening programme exists.
The Breast Cancer Foundation’s campervan helped with this, as it educated women on early detection, she said.
Wineti-Guptill used the campervan twice when it visited Kawerau and said it was a “great help”.
Before she was diagnosed, she went with a friend and said her awareness about breast cancer at the time was “very minimal”.
“That’s when I was able to get the information about self-checking.
“It’s amazing having that caravan because not a lot of people in our rural area have access. They’re not able to get to places because of transport and what have you.”
She encouraged women who were younger than the free screening age to seek information from the campervan about self-checking.
“Get check-ups, don’t put it off, don’t delay, because they’ve got so much they can do to help us save us if we get in there early enough.”
A Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand media statement said it was endeavouring to reach more women in regional New Zealand with its education programme to encourage more women to attend regular breast screening.
It was fundraising for a new pink campervan, which would allow its team of specialist nurses to reach more women in the country’s most isolated and rural communities.
Its old pink caravan had travelled around the motu since 2014 with nurses educating women about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, family risk, and the importance of mammograms and self-checking.
But after thousands of kilometres travelled, the caravan had become increasingly unfit for purpose. The charity was building a new custom-made campervan that nurses will be able to drive themselves, giving them better access to hard-to-reach communities.
The foundation’s chief executive Ah-Leen Rayner asked New Zealanders to help raise the funds to build a new pink campervan, “so we can take these messages to every corner of the country, no matter how remote or isolated, where women need us the most”.
“And the impact of your donations will be doubled, as a generous donor has already committed to matching every dollar raised up to $300,000.”
Rayner said getting more women into screening and educating them about early detection was “key” to its vision of reaching zero deaths from breast cancer.
Te Whatu Ora National Public Health Service prevention interim director Rachel Mackay said due to the impacts of Covid-19, there had been a decrease in breast screening coverage nationally and internationally.
“Screening providers have been extending their hours and running extra clinics to reduce the impact from service pauses and reduced appointments,” she said.
Te Whatu Ora was reviewing how programme capacity could be increased, as well as planning a national promotional campaign to promote breast screening and encourage women to return to screening.
BreastScreen Midlands actively engaged with community representatives and stakeholders to identify how these regions could be supported due to current capacity limitations and constraints. New mobile sites were being introduced, and late-night and weekend screening was being undertaken, she said.
Initiatives to increase the workforce were also planned, she said.
Covid-19 continued to impact these regions, with some women still cautious about attending mammogram screening appointments while others were looking after impacted dependents or isolating themselves due to illness.
“BreastScreen Midlands is conscious of how busy their communities are and has introduced additional call reminders of upcoming appointments.”
Mackay reminded women who had not had a breast screen in the last two years to get in touch with their doctor, practice nurse or health clinic, or call BreastScreen Aotearoa on 0800 729 729.
“Women who have any concerns about their breast health should see their doctor as soon as possible.”
