Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in New Zealand with approximately 3500 diagnosed cases a year.
And although screenings and mammograms play a vital role in detecting cancer early to help survival chances, statistics show that Pasifika women are the lowest in getting screened in most regions of the country.
This prompted a call to action by Breastscreen Aotearoa which resulted in the “Vaine Toa” campaign launched in Christchurch recently.
Breastscreen Aotearoa Programme manager Lisa Te Paiho spoke about the importance of getting their message across adding that screening has been around since 1998.
“Not everyone is able to participate in our screening program the way it is at the moment, that’s wahine Maori and Pacific women. So we really want to encourage Pacific women to participate in screening,” she says.
“For me, the aim of this campaign is to start a korero, start a talanoa about breast screening. Hear those stories from breast cancer survivors about how breast screening helped find it early and helped them to save their lives and helped them to move on with their mahi and whanau.”
With its high action production values, the Vaine Toa advertising campaign references the popular superhero film genre to show that, although women are heroes in our communities and families, they also need to look after themselves by getting screened and checked.
Among those attending the campaign launch at HOYTS Cinema was Cook Islander Marcia West Tetevano.
“I felt like a Vaine Toa being invited. Breast Screening is something that I haven’t done, but it’s something that my own mother died of so it really made me want to come here. I have a screening booked in! I’m proud to be going and doing it next week,” Tetevano says.
Breastscreen Aotearoa Pacific Advisory Chair, Dr Tua Lealaiauloto Taueetia Sua referenced the superhero theme to encourage women to think about themselves as well.
“Too often, women put everything else on top of their own selves. Say they’d rather look after their families and so forth. And quite often when it is time to go and see or even go for a screening, there’s no time for them,” Dr Tua says.
“We want to actually say to the women that if you are not well, you can’t be there for your family so you got to look after yourself first.”
Over at the Screensouth clinic in Christchurch, programme head Louise McCarthy says that statistics in their region show they have a lot of work to do.
“In Christchurch we’ve got around 100 women, Pacific island women that we need to be able to reach and engage to bring into the breast screening program to reach that 70% target.” McCarthy said
“But if we want to close the equity gap, which is the difference in the screening rates for non-Maori and non-Pacific and other women, and Pacific island women, that’s another 300 other Pacific women that we want to reach and engage.”
McCarthy says their research shows there are many reasons why Pasifika women don’t get screened or checked and they include being over-committed in other areas such as in church, for family, and in work. At the same time, cultural notions of ‘fakama’ or shame or just being to scared to talk about these issues, is also a big factor.
School principal and community leader Maria Lemalie Herbert understands well the issues and barriers which hold women back from screening. Now she’s taking her experience forward with the Vaine Toa campaign, speaking openly of how screening saved her life.
“I was a woman who was working in an all boys school, and I was in the senior leadership team and I was the only female and the majority of the staff were all men. When I did receive my notification for my upcoming mammogram, I kinda put it to the side,” Maria says.
“Once I moved to an all girls school, it was normal. Women talked about it, women were leaving left, right and centre for their appointments whether it was cervical, screening or breast screening or mammograms you name it.”
For Maria, she hopes being able to share her story will inspire other women.
“I think this campaign that was launched today, its visibility, is going to save a lot of women’s lives,” she says.
“Because they see someone that looks like them, they’re going to think, hey! That’s that lady I see at Eastgate, that’s the lady I see at PIC church, that’s the principal of my son’s school.
“You can’t be what you can’t see. So, for me, I am absolutely privileged to be a someone they are familiar with and has gone through it well.”
