A FEW seconds of discomfort saved Robyn Stepnell’s life.
In August 2012, the Swan Hill resident made a spur-of-the-moment decision to book in for a mammogram while one of Breast Screen Australia’s pink buses was in the local area.
The check proved to be life-saving — she was in the early stages of breast cancer.
She battled the disease for the next two and a half years until, in May this year, she was told the cancer was in remission.
With the three year mark coming up in August, Robyn has designed her own campaign — My Mammogram Month — to encourage other women to get their breasts checked.
“The most common question I am asked is: ‘how did you find out?’,” she said.
“It was through a mammogram, I didn’t have a lump, it is not in my family — I never ever thought I would get it, that I would be the one in nine.”
While many current campaigns aim to raise funds for research and support women with cancer, Robyn has taken a different approach.
“There are so many great things that have been done to raise funds… I found through my journey that it was very selfish, it was all about me, but through My Mammogram Month I want to make it all about you,” she said.
“Rather than feeling like yes I have done something in giving money or something, it is all about what you can do for you.”
Throughout the month of August, Robyn is encouraging other women to book in for a check up and share their stories with others.
“My aim is to get as many women of all ages to have a mammogram, and to know how to go for a mammogram,” she said.
“I now have to have a mammogram yearly, so for me it is about encouraging as many women as possible to go and have one in the same month as me.”
You can book in with Breast Screen on 13 20 50, with your local GP or at your local hospital.
Other women who have had cancer or know someone touched by it are encouraged to take up the mantle and have their own mammogram month.
Robyn has also encouraged women who book in August to get in contact and tell their story by emailing mmmrobyn@hotmail.com
For this and other stories, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (July 15).
