Breast screening just got a whole lot easier for the women of Pātea.
For the first time, a mobile breast screening unit has visited the South Taranaki town, enabling women to get a mammogram without leaving home.
“Oh, it’s awesome, great,” said local Karen Abbott. “Having it here is absolutely wonderful.”
Pātea sits 28km south of Hāwera and 104km – around the mountain – from New Plymouth.
Previously, women had to travel to New Plymouth — a journey of around two hours each way — or visit the mobile screening unit once every two years when it was parked in Hāwera.
“When my last one [mammogram] was due, this wasn’t an option. I would have had to travel two hours up to New Plymouth to get it done,” said Pātea’s Nicola Tedd.
“I must admit I’m a bit reluctant to do that sort of drive. Having it so close means there’s no excuse not to do it.”
Abbott agreed.
“There are a lot of women in Pātea who, for various reasons, have issues with transport, and having something here where you don’t have to travel is absolutely amazing.
“There’s very little in the way of public transport. So, unless you can time your appointment with when the bus is running if you don’t have a car —you’re stuffed,” she reflected.
Pātea has a population of just over 1200 and is well known as the birthplace of the much-loved anthem Poi-E by the Pātea Maori Club.
“Oh, the vibes in Pātea have been amazing,” said Krissy Atwood, the mobile unit’s community engagement officer.
“We’ve been made to feel so welcome,” added imaging technologist Lindy Croukamp.
The mobile unit was brought in by truck and parked at Patea Area School for four days. During that time, 121 women were screened, including 18 first-timers.
“It’s gone stunningly well. The attendance has been right out of the park,” said Croukamp.
‘Back on the screening programme’
Along with the first-timers were many women who hadn’t been screened in up to 10 years.
“It’s great to see they’ve made that decision to get the mammogram done and get back on the screening programme,” said Atwood.
“In the first two days, we saw around a hundred ladies, which is fabulous. We haven’t had an uptake like that in so long. It’s blown our minds how well it’s gone.”
Ronelle Whakarau said her mokopuna was the reason she was getting screened.
“Grandkids make you see things differently,” she said.
“Living far away from main towns, it’s hard to get to those appointments. This bus being here makes it easier for those who don’t have cars. It’s close. And it really is simple – nothing to be scared of. Just in and out.”
The programme champion, Tracey Gyde, was responsible for spreading the word that the bus was coming.
“I’m not known for being quiet,” she laughed.
South Taranaki born-and-bred, Gyde is a nurse at Hāwera Hospital.
“We talk about inequalities in health all the time, and then we don’t provide the services in the right places, at the right time, for the right people.
“Having the bus there means those local people don’t have to travel and can have their screening done and dusted in ten minutes.”
Gyde’s story
Gyde knows just how vital early detection is. In 2021, at the age of 45, she was diagnosed with breast cancer after her first mammogram.
“When I was making the appointment, the lady told me [the bus] isn’t in Hāwera at the moment; you’ll have to travel to Stratford. Do you want to wait until it’s back in Hāwera next year? I said, ‘No, it’s fine, I’ll go to Stratford’.
“A few days later, I got a phone call that they’d found something in both breasts, and I had to go to Palmerston for further screening.”
Gyde said she had no symptoms and, without the screening, would never have known.
“My cancer was still at a cellular level; it hadn’t got into the tissues. That’s what screening does — it identifies cancer really early on. I was like, wow.”
Gyde had to have part of one breast removed, followed by four weeks of radiation.
“Here I am a few years later, having annual mammograms, and it hasn’t come back. It was the screening that found it for me.”
The mobile unit offers a free service as part of the Breastscreening Coast to Coast programme, which aims to reach wahine in rural and remote areas.
“The inequalities between big cities and rural Taranaki — there’s a big disparity. We have to bring resources to the people,” insisted Gyde.
Having her mammograms up to date is a big relief for Nicola Tedd.
“My mum had breast cancer, so for me, it’s quite important to get it done.”
Ronelle agreed. “This is my first mammogram. I was scared, but my family mum’s sister was affected, and if she’d known earlier, she could have done something.”
‘No clinical feel’
Atwood put the programme’s success down to the unit’s informal nature.
“There’s a relaxed vibe, there’s no clinical feel, there’s no fear. Often, ladies feel fear before a mammogram, and it puts them off,” she said.
“A lot of people think you need to feel a lump, but the key is early screening. We can detect cancers up to 2mm on a mammogram before there are any symptoms.
“We wanted to bring the service to the ladies, and they’ve used it.”
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Gyde – now in great health – shared this advice: “If the results are not what you want, just look forward, don’t look back. It’s the journey you’re on.
“Just keep going.”