New Campaign Aims To Encourage More Pasifika Women To Get Breast Screening

Monday, 16 June 2025, 6:13 pm
Article: RNZ

Susana Suisuiki, Pacific Waves Presenter/Producer
Christina Persico, RNZ Pacific Bulletin Editor

A new campaign called 'Vaine Toa' is aiming to boost breast screening numbers among Pasifika women.

Breastscreen Aotearoa's Lisa Te Paiho said there are a number of barriers that prevent Pasifika women from getting their screening done, including transport and finance-related.

"With Breastscreen Aotearoa we're aiming to screen...70 percent of all eligible women," she said.

"It's actually pretty good coverage for Pacific women at the moment, across all of Aotearoa, it is 68 percent. So we're not at target, but that rate differs across the country, and there's some areas where it's a lot lower.

"I think that overall, the rates have increased, but that's still not where we'd like them to be."

She told Pacific Waves there's some myth busting they want to do in terms of what breast cancer means.

"We also just want people talking about it, if they can," she said.

"Breast cancer is the most common cancer for women in Aotearoa, and there are around three-and-a-half thousand women diagnosed each year.

"We want women to know that it's okay to talk about it and to feel safe and to feel like it's okay to share their stories. Because there are many, many breast cancer survivor stories for Pacific women - for many women."

Te Paiho said there are a number of myths they want to debunk.

"There's one that cancer is not treatable or curable, or that anyone diagnosed with cancer is going to die. So we really want people to know that we've come a long way, and cancers are treatable," she said.

"Many people believe the treatment themselves are quite hard to go through, and many, many years ago, that would be the case.

"But now, for most breast cancer treatments, some people - they carry on with their mahi. They don't actually stop, or they only slow down a little bit. So it's something that most people are able to to to do, and it's okay.

"I think another myth about breast screening is that it's very painful. It is uncomfortable, but it shouldn't be painful."

The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation states women should regularly check their breasts to know what's normal for them, and recommends women consider having regular screening from age 40.

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