Nearly 41,500 more women having breast screening

Associate Minister of Health, Hon Tariana Turia, reports that new figures show nearly 41,500 more women aged 50 to 69 have taken part in the Government’s free breast cancer screening programme in the 24 months to December 2010 than in the previous period.

“This increase is great news for women’s health. Not only are these women giving themselves the best chance for breast cancer to be found and treated early, but this is a sign women are prioritising their health” said the Associate Minister.

“The percentage of Maori and Pasifika women having breast screening has had the greatest increase, with a further 5486 Maori women and 2898 Pasifika women taking part in the programme over the 24 month period to December 2010.

“This is a particularly pleasing result, as Maori and Pasifika women are less likely to have breast screening, and have an increased likelihood of dying of breast cancer. These figures show this imbalance is beginning to be redressed.”

Mrs Turia says the percentage of eligible women being screening in all parts of New Zealand has increased.

“Breast screening is undertaken for the National Screening Unit by eight lead providers. All providers have shown an increase in the percentage of women 50 to 69 screened – with an increase of nearly 10% in the Counties Manukau area, and over 7% in the Auckland area.”

“There is, however, no room for complacency and there is still much more that we can do to increase awareness of the benefits of screening”.

Mrs Turia says early detection is the best protection.

“Women with breast cancer that is found early have the best chance of successful treatment, and going on to live full lives, so they can be there for their whanau.”

“Free mammograms are available every two years through BreastScreen Aotearoa for women aged 45-69″, says Mrs Turia. “This free, quick and simple screening test saves lives.”

For further information or to make an appointment, women can ring freephone 0800 270 200, or see the website: nsu.govt.nz.

Background Information

* About 331,000 women aged 50 to 69 have been screened as part of the BreastScreen Aotearoa programme in the 24 months to December 2010. In the previous 24 month period, to December 2008, about 289,700 women were screened.

* Breast cancer is the most common cancer in New Zealand women, and the risk of developing breast cancer increases with age. BreastScreen Aotearoa checks women for signs of early breast cancer by using mammograms – the only proven way for finding breast cancers early enough to reduce the risk of dying.

* Two-yearly breast screening reduces the chances of dying from breast cancer for women under 50 by about 20%, by about 30% for women between 50 and 65, and by about 45% for women aged 65-69.

* Breast Screen Aotearoa aims to screen 70% of women aged 50 to 69.

Obama Cuts Women’s Health Care, Funds Planned Parenthood

President Barack Obama is facing criticism from a conservative group for cutting women’s health care while holding steadfast to funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

Obama refused repeated requests from pro-life House Speaker John Boehner to agree to cut funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business. However, his administration didn’t raise a stink about the elimination of $600 million for Community Health Centers.

Planned Parenthood, and its defenders, like Obama have used the argument against cutting its funding that women’s health would suffer because the funding cuts would supposedly cut or eliminate legitimate health care programs for women offered by the abortion business. However, the community health centers facing the cuts offer real health care services for women that Planned Parenthood doesn’t provide.

While an expose’ revealed Planned Parenthood doesn’t provide mammograms and its own figures show relatively few women receive pre-natal and post-natal care (about 95 percent of pregnant women get abortions at Planned Parenthood), community health centers provide both.

In an email LifeNews.com received from the conservative American Principles Project, community health centers helped 320,000 women with mammograms, while Planned Parenthood provided none.

“Coating its ideology in flowery language about women’s health and alleged Republican mean-spiritedness, liberal Democrats refused to cut one dime out of Planned Parenthood’s plump federal purse during the budget debate,” APP president Frank Cannon said. “All the while a sharp knife was being taken to community health centers that actually perform full-scale exams for the needy. These health centers offer prenatal care to women and their babies – 480,000 times in 2009 alone. Planned Parenthood? Their 850 clinics average less than one prenatal visit a month, in other words, it’s not their line of work.”

In March, the pro-life organization responsible for recent videos showing Planned Parenthood offering abortions to alleged sex traffickers who prey on women found the abortion business is misleading about mammograms.

Previously, LifeNews.com and pro-life blogger Jill Stanek followed up with phone calls to various Planned Parenthood centers and confirmed they do not do mammograms.

Then, Live Action released videotaped footage of calls to 30 Planned Parenthood centers nationwide in 27 different states where abortion facility staff were asked whether or not mammograms could be performed on site. Every one of the Planned Parenthood centers admitted they could not do mammograms. Every Planned Parenthood, without exception, tells the women calling that they will have to go elsewhere for a mammogram, and many clinics admit that no Planned Parenthood clinics provide this breast cancer screening procedure.

“We don’t provide those services whatsoever,” admits a staffer at Planned Parenthood of Arizona while a staffer at Planned Parenthood’s Comprehensive Health Center clinic in Overland Park, Kansas tells a caller, “We actually don’t have a, um, mammogram machine, at our clinics.”

Live Action president Lila Rose said the recordings further confirm Planned Parenthood’s corruption.

“Planned Parenthood is first and foremost an abortion business, but Planned Parenthood and its allies will say almost anything to try and cover up that fact and preserve its taxpayer funding,” she told LifeNews.com. “It’s not surprising that an organization found concealing statutory rape and helping child sex traffickers would misrepresent its own services so brazenly, playing on women’s fears in order to protect their tax dollars.”