A group of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei artists has teamed up
with Breast Cancer Foundation NZ (BCFNZ) to encourage
wāhine to book their mammograms.
The Te Puāwai
weavers – Ruth Cullen-Scott, Vicky Pollock, Beronia Scott,
Jodi-ann Warbrick and Kororia Witika – appear in BCFNZ’s
new awareness campaign, Mammograms
for Us, released this October for Breast Cancer
Awareness Month. The film centres around the idea that we
all have a role to play to look after our wāhine, because
they do so much to look after us. It aims to change the
conversation for women who don’t always put themselves, or
their health, first and it calls on whānau and friends to
tell the wāhine they love to book a mammogram.
One of
the weavers, Beronia Scott, went through breast cancer in
2020 and credits the mammogram that diagnosed her for saving
her life.
Beronia says: “If it wasn’t for that
mammogram, I wouldn’t be here today. It’s so important
we go for regular mammograms because they are all about
being here for your whānau. Mammograms can help you be on
this planet longer for them, so they are 100 percent worth
doing.”
Around 400 wāhine Māori in Aotearoa New
Zealand are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and it is
the leading cause of death for Māori women under 65. Early
detection through screening mammograms offers the greatest
protection – the 10-year survival rate for breast cancer
detected via mammogram is 95%, but this falls to 85% if a
woman finds a lump.
“We know wāhine Māori are
disproportionately affected by breast cancer so we’re
grateful to be working with Ngāti Whātua Orākei whānau
kairaranga to motivate more wāhine to go for their
mammograms,” says Ah-Leen Rayner, chief executive of
BCFNZ.
“Mammograms are free for women aged 45-69 and
they only take 10 minutes every two years. They can spot
breast cancer before you can feel or see any symptoms, which
means your chances of successful treatment are much higher.
The best thing you can do for you and your loved ones is to
book a mammogram today,” adds Rayner.
BCFNZ
published a report earlier this year called “30,000
Voices: Informing a better future for breast cancer in
Aotearoa New Zealand” which found that a wāhine
Māori’s risk of dying has decreased by 32%, but Māori
are still more likely to die from breast cancer than
Pākehā. Māori also have the lowest screening
participation rates (59% vs 66% for all ethnicities as of
June 2022), and this has fallen to an all-time low since
Covid lockdowns disrupted the breast screening
programme.
BreastScreen Aotearoa runs the national
breast screening programme and women can call 0800 270 200
or visit timetoscreen.nz/breast-screening
to book a mammogram.
Mammograms For Us can be viewed
here: youtu.be/7dm0mQEJyc4
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