The study, published this month in journal The Breast, found there had been improved breast cancer survival in NSW in the past 20 years, but there was a widening gap between urban and rural women. The five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with breast cancer increased from 81 per cent in 1987 to almost 90 per cent in 2007. 

But survival rates were consistently lower for women living in rural areas. By 2007, the risk of dying from breast cancer has risen by more n from page 1

than 30 per cent for women in rural and remote NSW compared to Sydney. 

Tamworth-based Cancer Council NSW community programs co-ordinator Shaen Fraser said the findings were “alarming”. 

“It is alarming because so many things have become better, in terms of detection and mammograms, so it should be declining,” Ms Fraser said. 

She said the underlying reasons for the widening country-city disparity needed to be addressed.

“A potential reason for this gap may be that women living in rural and remote areas were more likely to have limited access to health services and had to travel long distances to treatment centres,” Ms Fraser said. 

“It’s why we put so much emphasis on things like Inala House, so they have somewhere to stay, as well as transport assistance to treatment, so that people aren’t missing out on treatment because of these other obstacles.

“We have to make sure we currently don’t lose any of those services we do have.”

Ms Fraser said rural women also need to take advantage of mobile breast screens when they come into their community, as early detection can prove to be a cure. 

She said sometimes fear, fewer services in the country and women putting their families or jobs before their health were contributing factors as to why rural women didn’t get tested earlier. 

“Women need to be proactive in their own health. They need to start taking the time to look after themselves,” she said.

“There are so many things they put ahead of themselves. Sometimes they’ve got to step back and think, if they weren’t there, what would happen to their family?” 

She urged women who noticed changes or lumps to not “put it off” but to have a check- up as soon as possible.

The report also found a lack of specialists in rural areas meant rural patients may not be receiving cancer stage-appropriate therapy compared to patients in the city.

The risk of dying in the first five years after a diagnosis was similar between city and country from 1992 to 1996, but there was a significant geographical disparity from 1997 to 2001 and again from 2001 to 2007.