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With one-in-seven Australian women likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, concern is growing about the wait times for mammograms around the country.
People who discover lumps or other concerning changes to their breasts require a diagnostic mammogram, as opposed to a standard screening, but many are forced to either wait for weeks or travel for the diagnostic service.
In Queensland, a woman was told the wait would be up to six weeks for a scan, before she found a cancellation appointment and was $538 out of pocket for testing and a biopsy.
A breast cancer survivor in the Northern Territory was told the waiting list for a mammogram was six to eight weeks and it would cost $350.
Three women in Tasmania recently shared their stories of long and anxious waits for mammogram services.
'Gosh, I hope they don't find anything'
Independent MP Lara Alexander is another Tasmanian who opted to travel interstate for tests since discovering lumps in her breasts in September.
Ms Alexander was told the wait would be two months for an ultrasound in Tasmania.
Anxious about the idea of waiting to find out if she had cancer, the 56-year-old got an appointment in Melbourne the following week.
It took three more trips — involving a mammogram, MRI and biopsy — before her specialist was confident there was no cancer.
"Every single time you keep your fingers crossed, and you think, 'Oh, gosh, I hope they don't find anything,'" she said.
"It's a pretty traumatic experience."
She estimates she has spent $4,000 on flights, accommodation and tests.
Woman pays more than $500 for testing in Brisbane
When Joanne*, 35, found a lump in her breast in September last year, she went straight to her Brisbane GP to get a referral for a mammogram — but all the clinics said it would be a five or six-week wait.
"Which was really scary, because I've got this massive lump — I didn't know what was going on," she said.
She found a clinic that had just had a cancellation, so in the end, she was seen quickly.
"They just happened to have someone call up, I think five minutes before I did, to say that they'd had a cancellation for the very next day," she said.
Joanne ended up having to pay $1,100 on the spot for a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy, receiving $562 back on Medicare. The lump was removed, and fortunately turned out to be benign.
But she thought the process would be easier.
"I just genuinely thought I could go to a service, I could get it sorted in a couple of days … that wasn't the case."
The experience prompted her to get private health insurance, so if she finds something else worrying she can hopefully be seen quickly.
"It's almost to the point now where private health is mandatory," she said.
Breast cancer survivor in NT told of two-month wait
Darwin-based Janet Karakotas has had breast cancer before, so she gets a diagnostic mammogram every year.
"I go every year for preventive mammograms for breast cancer because I have one of the genes and it's hereditary [in] my family," she said.
"I had the works — chemotherapy, everything."
But when the 73-year-old tried to book a mammogram in December, she was told it would take six to eight weeks.
"A few years ago, it was a one-week wait … things have changed drastically."
Ms Karakotas said a diagnostic mammogram used to be free from the private hospital, but now it costs $350.
The former nurse said there was only one bulk-billing clinic in Darwin: "So everybody goes there now, and of course, there's a big long queue."
While Ms Karakotas is now cancer-free, she worries about the impact of the wait on others.
"I feel sorry for women who have got a lump in their breast, and they have to wait all that time," she said.
Long waits 'unacceptable', Breast Cancer Network says
The Breast Cancer Network of Australia said there had been delays for mammograms and ultrasounds in areas around the country, with waits particularly long in Tasmania.
"We're now entering six years whereby Tasmania has struggled to support diagnostic imaging services," Vicki Durston, director of policy, advocacy and support services, said.
"What we're hearing is that people are needing to travel long distances, some people have been told to go home and wait it out. That is unacceptable."
Tasmania's Minister for Women, Jo Palmer, said the government was aware of the issue, and the state had invested in four new mammogram machines over the last 18 months. She also said the government was looking to open a public breast screen care centre.
Ms Durston said one-in-seven Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and delays in diagnosis meant delays in treatment.
"We know that people who wait too long to be diagnosed have poor outcomes," she said.
"And we know that people should really, in an optimal situation, be diagnosed within weeks, and that ensures that we can start treatment early."
She is urging governments to ramp up funding for clinics and financial support for those who need to travel for diagnosis and treatment.
"People who are diagnosed with breast cancer can often have enormous out-of-pocket costs," she said.
Free screenings are available through the national breast screening program for people aged 40 and older who do not have symptoms.
But those with symptoms require a diagnostic mammogram, which requires a GP referral and there is often a gap fee.
Ms Durston said this is the most common way breast cancer is detected.
"What we know is approximately 51 per cent of those diagnosed with breast cancer will be diagnosed outside the breast screening program," she said.
'We're not doing preventative medicine well'
Ms Alexander described the news she did not have cancer as the best "Christmas gift" she ever received.
"But I'm thinking, all those people that do not get the good news, and they've had delays, and they can't afford to go to Melbourne — what happens?" she asked.
"We're not doing preventative medicine well at all."
Ms Alexander will need to travel to Melbourne again later this month.
While she is clear of cancer, she still needs surgery due to issues with her lymph nodes, as well as past medical problems and a family history of cancer
*Name has been changed
For more information about breast cancer and available services please visit the Breast Cancer Network website
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