BALRANALD’S Theatre Royal will be the home of a BreastScreen NSW mobile van until Thursday this week, which will provide free breast screenings for local residents.
It is operating from 9am until 4pm every day this week, until April 18, for women over the age of 40.
It’s recommended women between the ages of 50 and 74 undergo a screening every two years, while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are recommended to book after the age of 40.
Only women over the age of 40 are eligible to attend the free service through the organisation, with no referral needed to make a booking.
The screening takes just 20 minutes.
All of BreastScreen NSW’s radiographers are female who use high quality imaging equipment with minimal radiation.
Also known as mammograms, breast screens are X-rays that can identify cancers that are too small to feel.
One in seven women in New South Wales will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, with it being the most common form of cancer found in Australian women.
Mortality rates for the cancer have decreased since BreastScreen Australia began, falling from 74 deaths per 100,000 women in 1991 to 40 deaths per 100,000 in 2014.
Bookings for a breast screen can be made over the phone on 13 20 50 or online at book.breastscreen.nsw.gov.au.
