Breast Screening

BreastScreen Aotearoa is a free national breast screening programme that checks women between 45 and 69 years for early breast cancer. The programme aims to reduce the number of women who die from breast cancer.

You can have a free screening mammogram every two years through BreastScreen Aotearoa if you meet the following criteria:

• Are aged 45 – 69 years
• Have no symptoms of breast cancer
• Have not had a mammogram in the last 12 months
• Are not pregnant or breastfeeding
• Are eligible for public health services in New Zealand
  (Details of eligibility are available at www.moh.govt.nz/eligibility)

Enrolling and booking an appointment:

• Freephone 0800 270 200 to enrol and/or book an appointment
• You can enrol when you visit your GP. H/she may also send you a letter to advise that you may be eligible to join the BreastScreen Aotearoa programme.
• Enrol online by visiting the BreastScreen Aotearoa website
  If you have been previously screened by BreastScreen Aotearoa you will receive a letter inviting you for another mammogram when you are due.

Mammograms are breast x-rays which:

• can show changes in the breast before anything can be seen or felt. In most cases the changes will not be cancer.
• can detect breast cancer early, which means a very good chance of successful treatment
• are particularly effective in women 50 years and over who have mammograms every two years
• can detect about 75 percent of unsuspected cancers in women under 50 and 85 percent in women over 50
• cannot prevent you getting breast cancer and cannot always prevent death from breast cancer.

Some breast cancers develop during the time between screening mammograms, so it is important that you are breast aware. If you notice any breast symptoms (changes that are not normal for you), see your doctor as soon as possible.

Symptoms could include:

• a new lump or thickening
• a change in breast shape or size
• pain in the breast that is unusual
• puckering or dimpling of the skin
• any change in one nipple, such as:
• • a turned-in nipple
  • a discharge that occurs without squeezing
• a rash or reddening of the skin that appears only on the breast

Service hours

By appointment

Location

Mammograms are provided at the Breast Care Centre, Waikato Hospital, Anglesea Women’s Health, Hamilton, or on one of our two mobile breast screening units. A mobile visits every town within the Waikato and some of the remote areas of the Bay of Plenty and Lakes District Health Board regions.

Contact information

Breast Screen Midland
Ph: 0800 270 200

Breast Care Centre: Waikato Hospital
Ph: (07) 834 3665 or ext 97665

BreastScreen Midland GP Data Coordinator
Ph: 021 356 714