A 'Be Breast Aware' community session for the Karen community, organised by Bendigo BreastScreen and Women's Health Loddon Mallee, was a massive success with 17 community members screening on the day.
With the help of three bilingual health educators, the group was given lots of information about breast health and early detection and had an opportunity to examine the characteristics of breast lumps using a breast model.
One community member spoke about her breast cancer journey in Karen and how she detected a breast lump after attending an education session that taught her how to do breast self-examination.
Overall, 22 clients attended the session on Wednesday, 5 May, and out of the 17 clients who screened, 13 had never screened before. The first-timers reported breast screening being much easier than they had thought and not as scary as many have said.
Feedback from the session included comments such as "insightful and informative", "liked being part of a group", "having the opportunity to ask questions related to their health".
There were some fantastic outcomes from the day. All participants agreed the session increased their knowledge and understanding of how and why breast screening is performed, and they would feel more confident screening in future and will screen when they are next due. They will encourage their family and friends to screen.
The women thoroughly enjoyed their day, supporting each other to screen and sharing a beautiful meal.
Bendigo BreastScreen gives great thanks and appreciation to all partners involved in planning and running this very successful community event.