Breast Cancer Prevention Programs in Australia

Breast cancer is a global concern, and Australia has introduced effective programs to address the issue. This article discusses the BreastScreen Australia, Cancer Council of Australia, and Breast Health and Awareness programs. These programs provide free screening, information, and interventions to reduce the incidence and mortality rate of breast cancer. Strategies include healthy diet, physical activities, limiting smoking and alcohol intake, and proper breast feeding. However, some limitations are present, and the programs can be modified with proper interventions to be more effective.

Running head: PRIMARY HEALTH CARE NURSING
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE NURSING
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1PRIMARY HEALTH CARE NURSING
Breast cancer is found to be one of the most common form of cancer within women with
different forms of such as breast containing lump, swollen lymph nodes, inverted nipples and
others (Marmot et al., 2013). Thus, it has become global concern. In Australia the prevalence of
breast cancer has been found to be 28.4% (DeSantis et al., 2014). Hence, it is important to
introduce effective programs to address the issue. In this regards many effective programs have
been found to introduce adequate interventions to reduce the incident of breast cancer.
BreastScreen Australia is one of such effective program that have taken adequate
initiatives in order to reduce the risk of breast cancer. The program provides free screening of
breast cancer and aims to decrease the rate of death due to breast cancer. Strategies taken by the
program include proper diet and adequate physical activities to maintain the body weight as risk
of breast cancer is high in obese people. Next strategy is to limit smoking and alcohol intake as
most of the cases of breast cancer have been found to be associated with substance abuse. Proper
breast feeding is another initiative as women that breastfeed their child for 12months are less
vulnerable to breast cancer. The interventions taken by the program is effective to reduce the
mortality rate by 21%. However the target people of the program is women aged between 50 to
74 years, it can be said that it the limitation of the program and the service providers should
include wider range of age to make the programme more effective (healthdirect.gov.au, 2018).
Another program has been introduced by the Cancer Council of Australia. It has been informed
by the organization that early detection of breast cancer could help to introduce proper treatment
in time and help the patient to survive from the condition. Mammography has been identified by
the cancer council as the most effective screening process. The cancer council Australia helps the
women to get information about breast screen program and encourage them to participate in the
program. Such initiatives are appreciable, however, it has been found that mammography could

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lead to risk of overdiagnosed condition that may results in unnecessary treatment. Thus, it is
important to identify proper screening process to detect breast cancer effectively (Australia,
2018). Breast health and awareness is another important program that plays a vital role in order
to create awareness within the population. The interventions taken by the program is similar to
the strategies of BreastScreen Australia which include healthy diet, being active, reduce the
intake of alcohol, skip smoking and breast feeding. In addition the program provides adequate
information regarding breast cancer, risk factors, causes and treatment as well (bcna.org.au,
2018). Such strategies are effective to create awareness within the population and encourage
them to adapt healthy lifestyle.
From the above discussion it can be said that, breast cancer has become one of the main
concern of the health system due to increased prevalence and mortality. Some effective
initiatives have been taken in Australia that have provided adequate measures to control the
illness, however, some limitations are also present but they can be modified with proper
interventions and the program could be more effective.

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References:
Australia, C. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.cancer.org.au/about-cancer/early-detection/screening-programs/breast-
cancer-screening.html
bcna.org.au (2018). Reducing your risk | Breast Cancer Network Australia. Retrieved from
https://www.bcna.org.au/breast-health-awareness/reducing-your-risk/
DeSantis, C., Ma, J., Bryan, L., & Jemal, A. (2014). Breast cancer statistics, 2013. CA: a cancer
journal for clinicians, 64(1), 52-62.
healthdirect.gov.au (2018). Breast cancer prevention. Retrieved from
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/breast-cancer-prevention
Marmot, M. G., Altman, D. G., Cameron, D. A., Dewar, J. A., Thompson, S. G., & Wilcox, M.
(2013). The benefits and harms of breast cancer screening: an independent
review. British journal of cancer, 108(11), 2205.