Free breast screenings to roll into town

Free mammogram screenings will be available to Collie women from mid-July until early September as part of a BreastScreen WA service. Women between the ages of 50 and 74 are eligible for the free program, but all women over 40 are eligible for a screening. The service will be located at the Collie PCYC. Breast cancer is the most common life threatening cancer among women and BreastScreen WA’s medical director Dr Elizabeth Wylie said mammography was the best method for early detection. “A free screening mammogram is one of the best thing women can do to look after their health,” she said. “Breast screening saves lives and only takes 20 minutes. “Screening every two years is vitally important to increase the chance of a breast cancer being detected when it is too small to feel or be noticed. “Finding a cancer at this stage often means the breast cancer is small and more treatable.”