A cheeky new ad campaign in the battle against breast cancer is encouraging women over the age of 40 to ‘make time for the girls’ by booking in for a free breast screen that could save their life.

The playful campaign from BreastScreen SA is being launched today on International Women’s Day.

Produced using an almost exclusively female creative and production team, the campaign is designed to engage and empower women, prompt conversation and encourage action.

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths in women and increases in frequency with age, with one in 7 Australian women diagnosed before the age of 85.

Screening and early detection significantly increases the survival rate.

The ‘Make time for the girls’ campaign is designed to catch people’s attention, with an online video and social media posts, encouraging women to give their ‘cans a scan’ and ‘make time for your melons’.

The concept for the campaign was market tested with focus groups of South Australian women who BreastScreen SA credits for coming up with the ‘Make time for the girls’ campaign name.

The new campaign follows the successful introduction of online bookings on the BreastScreen SA website in September and the opening of a brand new $6.5 million state-of-the-art Assessment Clinic and State Coordination Unit in November.

The Malinauskas Labor Government successfully secured the new site at the former Wakefield Hospital, investing $5.3 million into the new location with a further $1.2 million contributed by the Pelligra Group.

The new site includes an additional consult room, as well as larger client waiting areas, and a dedicated results clinic space.

There has been a 40 per cent increase in breast screen bookings since the online booking system became available in September, with more than 31,000 screening appointments made online since then.

Nearly half of South Australian women are now choosing to book online.

BreastScreen SA provides free breast screens (breast X-rays) every two years to women over 40, primarily aged 50 to 74 years, who have no symptoms, with the aim of diagnosing breast cancer at an early stage, before it can be felt.

Around 95,000 women are screened each year across 11 BreastScreen SA clinics, including eight fixed screening clinics and three mobile screening units, with around five per cent asked to attend the Assessment Clinic for more tests.

While most women who have further tests do not have breast cancer, between 650 and 750 cancers are diagnosed through the Assessment Clinic each year.

It is impossible to tell if you have breast cancer in the early stages, and 90 per cent of women who get breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

Screening increases the survival rate, with research showing women who have regular screens reduce their chance of dying from breast cancer by up to 41 per cent.

To make a free appointment, go to www.breastscreen.sa.gov.au and click the ‘Book Online’ button or call BreastScreen SA on 13 20 50.

The video and social media graphics from the new campaign can be viewed here.

Quotes

Attributable to Chris Picton

This cheeky campaign takes a light-hearted approach to raise awareness about a serious matter.

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths in women and increases in frequency with age.

Screening increases the survival rate, with research showing women who have regular mammograms reduce their chance of dying from breast cancer by up to 41 per cent.

We know a lot of women put off having a breast screen because they’re embarrassed about being overdue or they think it will take too long.

If you are over the age of 40 and are due for your two-yearly mammogram, please make an appointment for a free breast screen - it could save your life.

Attributable to BreastScreen SA Program Director Lauren Civetta

One in in seven Australian women are diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 85.

This International Women’s Day, we’re using this new campaign to encourage women who are due for screening to make sure they book in for a free appointment.

We know it can be hard for busy women to make time for themselves, but a breast screen can take as little as 15 minutes, and it could save your life. The earlier a cancer is discovered, the greater the chance it can be treated successfully.