BREAST cancer touches many Australians every year but it is not just those dealing with the disease who are affected.
Donna Rullo is the community liaison for the newly formed Swan Hill branch of the Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA).
As a breast cancer survivor herself, Donna believes there are a lot of support programs available in metropolitan areas that she would like to bring to Swan Hill.
“One of our priority areas will be to ensure that Swan Hill residents are aware of the care and support available to them and know how to access them,” Ms Rullo said.
“We would also like to see some of the support resources brought to Swan Hill such as information packs and guest speakers.”
One area that is overlooked according to Ms Rullo is the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, including Indigenous women.
“Breast cancer does not discriminate. It can affect anyone at any age from any background,” Ms Rullo said.
“For many of our CALD community, they are not aware of the supports such as the mammogram van visits, and the importance of regular breast screening.”
Voyage Fitness is getting behind the BCNA by holding a boot camp to raise funds that will be used to purchase breast cancer information in CALD languages.
“A study of Swan Hill in conjunction with Swan Hill Primary Health was completed and there were five primary languages identified for our region. We will use the funds raised by Voyage Fitness to purchase brochures in those languages to be distributed throughout the Swan Hill region,” she said.
Ms Rullo also wanted to remind Swan Hill women that the screening bus will be making a visit again in March. Bookings are essential and can be made by calling 13 20 50 or by visiting the website www.breastscreen.org.au
For more on this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (January 22).
