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CELEBRATE Wellness, a project to encourage women to undergo mammogram screenings at a subsidised
rate, is paying off in the early detection of breast cancer.
Of the 4,000 women aged 50 to 69 – the high-risk age group – who had undergone a mammogram since January, about 520 showed abnormalities and were referred for further assessment.
The programme was launched in October last year by Project Wings (Women Inspiring, Nurturing and Grooming Singaporeans) led by the People’s Action Party’s female Members of Parliament.
As part of the initiative, women who had either not gone for a mammogram before or had not had one in the last three years were sent letters by the Health Promotion Board to invite them to go for a one-time subsidised screening at a price of $25.
Speaking at the project’s roadshow in Woodlands yesterday, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam reminded the participants that breast cancer is the most common cancer among Singaporean women. “The best thing that a woman can do for herself is to go for a screening mammogram to detect breast cancer while it is still small and more easily treated.”
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