Tasmanian women living on Hobart’s eastern shore now have access to a new breast screening clinic, offering cancer detection and mammogram services within the public healthcare system.
The BreastScreen Tasmania Clinic in Rosny Park joins existing facilities in Launceston and Burnie, providing convenient screening options for women in the area.
Health Minister Jacquie Petrusma said the $900,000 clinic is a state government investment that will help save lives.
“About 5,500 women who live on this side of Hobart will be able to come to this clinic [each year] to access life-saving, but also life-protecting early detection of breast cancer,” she said.
“The most important thing about breast cancer is that we detect it early. Because by detecting it early, you not only get life protection, but you increase dramatically your rates of survival.”
According to Dylan Sutton, Director of Population Screening and Cancer Prevention at the Department of Health, Breast Screen Tasmania has the highest national participation rate.
“Until now we’ve been bringing one of our mobile vans here every year for around a month, a month and a half,” he said.
“This new clinic being here permanently now lets us take that mobile screening unit elsewhere in the state.”
“So there are areas around Launceston, rural and remote Tasmania, where we’ll now be able to take that mobile screening unit to make it easier for women in those areas to access our services as well.”
The two mobile screening units screen a combined 13,000 women per year.
