The breast screen you keep meaning to book

Most people know breast screening exists. Fewer are sure whether they are due, where to go, or what actually happens when they get there. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which makes it a reasonable moment to sort that out.

Why screening is worth the trouble

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in NSW. A screening mammogram can find a cancer before there is anything to feel. Found early, there are more treatment options available and a better chance of survival.

Two things about it surprise people. The first is that the two biggest risk factors are simply being born female and getting older. The second is that 9 out of 10 women diagnosed have no family history of the disease. Waiting until breast cancer shows up in your family is not a plan.

Who BreastScreen NSW screens

BreastScreen NSW recommends a screen every two years for women aged 50 to 74. An invitation arrives from age 50. More than 75% of breast cancers occur in women over 50.

Women in their 40s are eligible and welcome. BreastScreen asks that you talk to your doctor first about your own risk, because screening is less effective at that age. Denser breast tissue makes a small cancer harder to see on an x-ray. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are recommended to screen from age 40.

Women aged 75 and over are still eligible. Invitations stop at 75 but bookings do not. Past that age it becomes something you ask for rather than something you are reminded about.

Women under 40 are not screened by BreastScreen NSW. If you are under 40 and worried about your risk, particularly if there is a family history, that is a conversation to have with a GP rather than a screening appointment to book.

The recommended age range applies to trans and gender diverse people on the same terms.

Where it happens in Griffith

BreastScreen NSW screens in Griffith at I-MED Radiology Network, 115 to 119 Binya Street, next door to Your Health Griffith.

The clinic runs Tuesday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm, though BreastScreen notes days and times can vary. The premises are fully accessible with disability parking on site. General parking is free both on site and on the street. Bus route 941 runs along Binya Street. Community transport can be arranged in advance.

You can book directly with BreastScreen NSW on 13 20 50 or through their website. The screen is free and BreastScreen says it takes about 20 minutes.

One distinction worth being clear about

Screening is for people who have not noticed anything wrong. That is the whole point of it: 85% of women diagnosed with breast cancer by BreastScreen NSW had no noticeable symptoms at all.

If you have noticed a change, that is a different pathway. BreastScreen NSW's own advice is to see a GP rather than book a screening appointment, because a symptom needs assessing rather than screening. A doctor can examine you and arrange tests straight away if they are needed.

The changes BreastScreen NSW asks women to look and feel for are:

• a change in the size or shape of a breast

• a change to the nipple, such as crusting, an ulcer, redness or an inversion

• nipple discharge that happens without squeezing, including any blood

• a change to the skin, such as redness or dimpling

• a new lump or lumpiness, especially in only one breast

• an unusual pain in the breast or armpit that does not go away

None of these means cancer. Most breast changes turn out to be something else entirely. They all mean the same thing though, which is that it is worth getting looked at rather than watched for a few more months.

If English is not your first language

Griffith has more language backgrounds than most towns its size, so this is worth knowing before the day rather than on it. BreastScreen NSW publishes its information in more than 25 languages, including Italian, Arabic, Greek, Macedonian and Vietnamese. A free interpreter can be arranged through the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50.

Being the person who reminds someone

BreastScreen NSW's campaign this October asks people to talk to the women in their lives about booking a screen. Offering to drive someone, booking an appointment at the same time as them, or just asking whether they are due tends to do more than a poster on a wall.

If you are not sure whether you are due, or you would rather talk through your own risk before booking anything, make an appointment with us and we can go through it.

Source

• BreastScreen NSW, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Eligibility, Signs and symptoms of breast cancer and the Griffith screening location listing, all read 25 September 2026: breastscreen.nsw.gov.au

• Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, BreastScreen Australia Program: health.gov.au