First permanent breast screening clinic opens in Albany

Albany’s first permanent breast cancer screening clinic will open tomorrow, offering year-round free mammograms to eligible women.

The BreastScreen WA Clinic, on Barnesby Drive in Yakamia, will replace the mobile breast screening vans that visited Albany throughout the year.

The service will operate three days a week, providing 3000 mammograms every year.

One of two permanent clinics in regional WA, it has the capacity to house a second X-ray machine and be operative five days a week in the future.

All women aged 40 or over are eligible for a free scanning mammogram to help detect early signs of breast cancer through BreastScreen WA.

After launching an online petition for the service last year, Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens said she was delighted to see the clinic open.

“Having a permanent local service means women no longer have any excuse to delay putting off that overdue breast screen,” she said.

“Mammograms can detect breast cancer as small as a single grain of rice — well before changes in breasts can be seen or felt — so I’d encourage local women to book in when they are next due to be screened.”

Health Minister Roger Cook said breast screening rates had declined during COVID-19 and stressed the importance of early detection.