Forum Discussion
Makes me see red
I read, today, an intersting article on the ABC website about some of the issues faced by rural and regional people who have breast cancer or are at high risk of developing it. I'm not as remote as th...
This is the first time I have posted a comment. I have been "lurking" and reading since I was diagnosed in June 2017. So here goes!
I am very remote, living some 2,300 kms from my treatment centre. Accessing treatment as an older remote woman is hard. I drive 220 kms (a 3 hour trip, allowing for flooded creeks, poor roads and delays due to cattle on the road) before I even get to the airport. A travel day to Perth usually begins at 8:00 am and ends in Perth at 5;00 pm. A clinic visit requires a week away from home with all the expense whilst "living" on an aged pension.
I would like to see implemented a system similar to the Lion's Bush Vision truck. I am very lucky that once a year a Lion's Bush Vision truck visits my town equipped with all the necessary gear to undertake appropriate vision exams. This truck has saved my sight.
It would be wonderful if a similar program could be put in place to provide our annual mammograms to those of us who now no longer qualify for the Breastscreen program. It would save 1 trip a year with all the associated costs with being away from home, not only financial but the social and emotional costs.
Surely such a system cannot be too hard to implement. I certainly am not the only remote woman with breast cancer and I will admit that I have entertained the idea of not attending clinic visits for after care because of the cost and distance involved.
I am very remote, living some 2,300 kms from my treatment centre. Accessing treatment as an older remote woman is hard. I drive 220 kms (a 3 hour trip, allowing for flooded creeks, poor roads and delays due to cattle on the road) before I even get to the airport. A travel day to Perth usually begins at 8:00 am and ends in Perth at 5;00 pm. A clinic visit requires a week away from home with all the expense whilst "living" on an aged pension.
I would like to see implemented a system similar to the Lion's Bush Vision truck. I am very lucky that once a year a Lion's Bush Vision truck visits my town equipped with all the necessary gear to undertake appropriate vision exams. This truck has saved my sight.
It would be wonderful if a similar program could be put in place to provide our annual mammograms to those of us who now no longer qualify for the Breastscreen program. It would save 1 trip a year with all the associated costs with being away from home, not only financial but the social and emotional costs.
Surely such a system cannot be too hard to implement. I certainly am not the only remote woman with breast cancer and I will admit that I have entertained the idea of not attending clinic visits for after care because of the cost and distance involved.