Women helping other women

Team gets together for BreastScreen

THEY are women who work together to help other women – and this week four members of the YWCA Queensland team supported each other at a group booking at Toowoomba’s BreastScreen Service.

YWCA CEO Ailsa Leacy said she and three colleagues Kirsten Taylor, Rowiena Holley and Kylie Elisaia had decided to make appointments within a 15-minute window after becoming aware group bookings were available.

“One of our managers was diagnosed with breast cancer the year before last and she had treatment over a year and has come back to work part time,” Ms Leacy said.

“It got us thinking that as a women’s organisation we needed to take proactive steps for our women to monitor their health.

“We’re very conscious of women’s busy lives and that often we don’t prioritise our own health, so being able to make a group booking and come in work time has helped us all to get one of our important health checks.

“It was just a coincidence that October happens to be Breast Cancer Awareness month.”

Ms Leacy is encouraging other workplaces to also allow their female workers over 40 to attend a breast screen appointment either as an individual or in a group, a practice she will promote within YWCA Queensland.

The YWCA staff agreed that coming as a group had certainly motivated them to attend.

Ms Leacy said she was overdue for her two-yearly screen, so when BreastScreen Queensland health promotion officer Alexandra Robbins-Hill had delivered a breast cancer awareness session at the YWCA she decided to act.

Ms Robbins-Hill said up to

four women could be screened in each 15-minute time slot.

“We are more than happy to book in groups of women into a convenient time slot perhaps after school

drop-offs or late mornings so the ladies can go and have lunch afterwards and make it a social outing as well,” she said.

“Most women are surprised that it only takes

around 15 to 30 minutes to be screened, so it’s not a big ask in terms of time.

“We’ve also had great feedback on how easy it is to park at our Ruthven St clinic in the old Spotlight

building.”

Breast screens are free every two years for women over 40.

Group or individual bookings can be made by phoning 13 20 50.

PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED IMPORTANT MESAGE: YWCA Queensland staff members (from left) Rowiena Holley, Kirsten Taylor, KylieElisaia and CEO Ailsa Leacy were part of the first group booking at BreastScreen Queensland’s Toowoomba service.