Demand for mammograms in the ACT has nearly doubled in the wake of increased media coverage of breast cancer over the past two months.
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Clinical co-ordinator of BreastScreen ACT, Anne Bicknell, said average daily phone calls to book for a mammogram appointment had risen from between 80 and 100 a day to between 130 and 180 a day.
Dr Bicknell said it was great to see local women taking to heart the message that early detection saved lives. BreastScreen ACT offers free mammograms for all women over 40, with women aged 50-69 recommended to have a mammogram every two years.
The increased publicity surrounding the value of early breast cancer detection through mammograms has come from a number of outlets - locally through The Canberra Times Screening Saves Lives campaign and also ABC radio coverage of the issue.
Meanwhile international coverage of the issue surged last month when 40-year-old mother of two and Good Morning America television presenter Amy Robach undertook a mammogram live on-air, which lead to her being diagnosed with breast cancer.
This prompted similar on-air mammograms by Australian television personalities Lisa Wilkinson and Georgie Gardner.
Ms Wilkinson, 53, said she felt like a fraud as she had not had a mammogram in three years and yet she has been an ambassador for the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the face of the Australian Women's Health Diary, which raises money for breast cancer research.
National guidelines recommend women aged between 50-69 undertake a mammogram every two years.
Ms Wilkinson said that like many women, she had been too busy to book an appointment but Robach's experience had given her a wake-up call.
To book a mammogram with BreastScreen ACT, call 132050.