Cancer Australia

24 February 2010

Despite improvements in survival rates for ovarian cancer, the prognosis for women diagnosed with the disease remains relatively poor, according to the latest national report

World Cancer Day - 4 February

Get active, watch your weight and cut back on alcohol to reduce your risk of breast cancer. That’s the message from National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre* on World Cancer Day.

Women concerned about their family history of ovarian or breast cancer are being encouraged to go online with their general practitioner to complete National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre’s* new risk assessment tool.

Australia’s leading source of online evidence-based information on breast and ovarian cancer is now bigger and better than ever before – making it the most comprehensive one-stop-shop for breast and ovarian cancer information.

More women are being diagnosed with breast cancer than ever before, but death rates continue to fall, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC)*.

More than 12,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia each year. For every woman diagnosed there will almost certainly be a number of men in her life – a husband, partner, son, father, brother, or friend – who will also be affected.

Today, National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre* is launching a free audio resource to help men across Australia to deal with the emotional and practical challenges of being there for a loved one facing breast cancer.

Australian ovarian cancer experts have agreed that women should not undergo testing for ovarian cancer unless they are experiencing signs or symptoms of the disease.

The Federal Government today announced a special funding allocation of $2.71m for programs supporting women in rural areas diagnosed with breast cancer.

Aboriginal women in the Yarrabah area are invited to attend a free ‘Well Women Workshop’ on Tuesday 2 June to hear stories of strength and survival and learn important information every woman should know about breast cancer.

Applications are now invited from local community groups, volunteer organisations and health providers for seeding grants of up to $10,000 to improve community-based support for women with breast cancer in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia.

There is limited evidence of an association between night shiftwork and breast cancer risk.

National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre (NBOCC)* has now released the eagerly anticipated revised version of its Guide for women with early breast cancer.

Today is Teal Ribbon Day – Australia’s first ovarian cancer awareness day!

Almost 250 women under 50 years of age are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Australia each year and will receive treatment that can result in early menopause and loss of fertility.

February 2009 is Australia’s first Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Ovarian cancer has often been referred to as a ‘silent killer’, but new preliminary findings from an Australian study show the disease is in fact not silent – these latest data show most women (83 per cent) experience at least one symptom of ovarian cancer in the year prior to their diagnosis.

Refer to updated information

National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre* welcomes the addition of two new items to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) for the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the surveillance and diagnosis of women under 50 years of age at high risk of developing breast cancer.