We know cancer screening saves lives, but only around 50% of Australians eligible for the national cancer screening programs - BreastScreen Australia, National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and National Cervical Screening Program - complete the tests.
Australians diagnosed through the national cancer screening programs are 59% less likely to die from bowel, 69% less likely to die from breast cancer and 87% less likely to die from cervical cancer compared to Australians diagnosed another way.
Research shows primary healthcare workers are key to motivating patients to participate in cancer screening.
From mid-June 2022, the department will begin distributing cancer screening packs to more than 8000 general practices across Australia. The packs will include:
Three A3 posters, one for each national cancer screening program, with reminder messaging. We ask practices to place these in waiting rooms and other places visible to patients to prompt a conversation with their health care provider about cancer screening.
Digital copies of the posters are available:
Demonstration samples of the bowel cancer screening home test kit and the cervical screening self-collection swab - these can be used to show patients how to do the tests.
Digital copies of the instructions are available:
Information on how to use the cancer screening tests and where to find educational resources on cancer screening.
