Finance Minister Grant Robertson during his Crown accounts briefing at the Treasury in Wellington. Video / Mark Mitchell
Andrea Dorn had been a faithful National Party supporter until 2017 when Labour promised to extend free breast cancer screening for women up to 74 years old.
Her mother, Audrey, was diagnosed with breast cancer later in life so when Jacinda Ardern's party committed to the extension that could save up to 65 lives a year, Andrea turned red and voted Labour.
However, after five years and still no extension, the 75-year-old has lost all trust in Labour and has returned to supporting National after Christopher Luxon's party committed to the extension yesterday.
Andrea Dorn, 75, is disappointed the Labour Government hasn't honoured its commitment to extend the free breast cancer screening age. Photo / Dean Purcell
"I'm deeply disappointed. I changed my vote because [Labour] promised this, so I've lost confidence in them now," Dorn told the Herald.
Currently, Kiwi women aged between 45 and 69 years of age could receive a free mammogram every two years through the Government's BreastScreen Aotearoa programme if they satisfied several criteria.
About 271,000 New Zealanders who were eligible for free screening were not getting a regular check.
Sisters Linda Brown (left) and Andrea Dorn (right) stand beside their since passed mother Audrey Hicks, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 70s. Photo / Supplied
Australia, France and the United Kingdom were among those that offered free breast cancer screening to women up to 74.
In 2016, the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ presented a 10,000-signature petition to Ardern to extend free screening and it was later included as one of five health priorities in the 2017 coalition document agreed by Labour and New Zealand First.
Despite its priority status, the extension had not been implemented.
"I have to pay $230 to get mammograms done privately - that's a lot of money for a pensioner," Dorn said.
"I worry that for many women of my age, mammograms won't be a priority because of the cost and so there's a chance their breast cancer won't be detected until too late."
Andrea Dorn's mother Audrey was diagnosed with breast cancer later in life. Photo / Dean Purcell
Representatives from Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) appeared before the health select committee in August to submit on a Breast Cancer Foundation petition on the matter.
They agreed the extension was evidence-based, but said the current IT system was not "fit for purpose" and workforce shortages meant implementing the extension would not be "clinically safe".
Foundation chief executive Ah-Leen Rayner rejected the claim of an insufficient IT system.
"We categorically disagree with this because these women are already in the system and all they require is another two screening mammograms in that period of time," she told the Herald.
As explained by Rayner, women aged 70 were more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than women aged 50.
She said it was estimated up to 65 lives could be saved per year by extending the free screening age.
Breast Cancer Foundation NZ chief executive Ah-Leen Rayner. Photo / Supplied
She also referenced a Ministry of Health assessment that stated mortality could be reduced by at least one-third for screened women, compared to unscreened women.
"We've been working furiously on this because it's our biggest concern. It will make the biggest impact straight away."
The "elation" felt in 2017 when the extension was accepted in the coalition document had since morphed into complete disappointment as progress stalled, Rayner said.
The Ministry of Health had reportedly planned to implement the extension in a staged approach - 8000 in the first year and 16,000 in the second - something Rayner accepted, given realistic limitations on system capacity.
However, she implored the Government to introduce the extension immediately to ensure no further lives were lost unnecessarily.
Ardern and 2017-2020 health minister David Clark referred the Herald's questions to current associate health minister Ayesha Verrall.
Associate health minister Ayesha Verrall. Photo / NZME
In a statement, Verrall did not reference the extension but said the Government was "committed to ensuring New Zealand women can access the healthcare they need".
A Te Whatu Ora national screening unit spokesperson said implementing the extension would require increased workforce capacity, additions to facilities and equipment, and an upgrade to the IT system.
"Work is being done to consider how the sector could manage such an increase, especially in the context of the disruption caused by Covid-19."
Funding to upgrade the BreastScreen Aotearoa information technology system was announced in Budget 2021.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters characterised the matter as "just one more failure" by the party he entered into a coalition with in 2017.
He said NZ First did nothing to obstruct the extension from being implemented, noting Labour was in charge of the health portfolio.
Peters confirmed his support of the extension should he make it into government next year.
The Herald asked the remaining parties in Government whether they supported the policy.
Te Pāti Māori (the Māori Party) co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer strongly endorsed the extension and called for the screening age for all cancers to be lowered by 10 years to "reflect the fact Māori present 10 years earlier".
"When Māori women are dying seven years sooner on average than our Pākehā counterparts, the age criteria for cancer screening should reflect that."
Act Party leader David Seymour said he was open to the idea but said his party's health policies hadn't yet been finalised.
