Make health your priority today

Cancer screening has been one of the most effective tools in our arsenal against the disease.

With Covid lockdowns all last year, you might have overlooked your regular skin cancer check or breast screening.

Now that restrictions have eased in Queensland, I urge everyone to check that their screenings are up to date.

This is important because testing really does make a difference – if found early, cancer treatments can have much better outcomes.

In this country we are lucky to have free screening programs for cervical cancer, bowel cancer and breast cancer. If you are aged between 25 and 74 you can book a free cervical cancer test with your GP and you should have it repeated every five years. 

The Australian Government sends everyone aged 50 and 74 a free home bowel cancer test kit every two years. It’s simple to do – you just do the test and send back the samples to find out if you need further investigations.

Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in Australia, so when you receive your kit in the post, I urge you not to throw it in the back of your cupboard, but to do the test.

We have just expanded funding for free breast screening, so all women aged 40 to 74 are now included. 

You’ll receive a letter inviting you to a free mammogram every two years if you’re aged between 50 and 74 years. If you’re between 40 and 49 years, or 75 years and older, you can book a free screening mammogram. You don’t need to have breast cancer symptoms. 

Please – make your health a priority today!