A new BreastScreen NSW campaign is urging women to book in for a life-saving mammogram before it’s too late, with more than 50 per cent of NSW women aged 50-74 behind on their breast cancer screening.

The new campaign warns women that while you’re living life, ‘Breast Cancer Doesn’t Wait’.

The campaign coincides with the appearance of Gunnedah-born celebrity, Erica Packer, and family members on Australian Story earlier last week. The ABC television program detailed how the majority of women on her mother’s side have died from the breast cancer.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said while a record number of women have returned to the BreastScreen NSW service over the past few months, there are still more than 625,000 women who haven’t booked in for their breast screen.

Minister for Women, Jodie Harrison, urged women to book in for their mammogram as soon as possible.

“Putting off something like a mammogram can seem all too easy, but you shouldn’t,” Minister Harrison said. “The message of this new campaign is clear – put yourself, and your health, first.”

NSW chief cancer officer professor Tracey O’Brien said the campaign aims to encourage women to put themselves first and was developed after research found many women were not having regular breast screens because they were too busy.

“For women aged 50-74, a breast screen every two years is still the best way to detect and treat breast cancer early – before it can be seen or felt,” Professor O’Brien said. “Unfortunately, breast cancer is expected to take the lives of close to 1000 women in NSW this year and we need to do everything we can to detect and treat breast cancer as early as possible,” she said.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with one in seven women set to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Age and being female are the biggest risk factors – not family history.

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