Breast cancer survivor saving lives of wāhine Māori

Māori are 35 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer. Photo / Te Ao Māori News

Previously published by Te Ao Māori News

Huia Patena (Ngāti Haua) didn’t want to believe she had breast cancer.

“The surgeon said to me that he was 80 per cent sure that I had breast cancer. The first thing I said was ‘No, you don’t know, I haven’t even had my biopsy’.”

Last year when she was 48 years old, Patena was diagnosed and, thankfully, due to having private health insurance, a few weeks later she had surgery to remove the cancer, which, sadly, also meant a mastectomy.

Now recovering, she is helping more wāhine Māori get screened.

“July the 1st, I had a pink ribbon event here at my marae and it was very successful... That event prompted nine women to go and have their own private mammograms,” she says.

Patena has arranged for 10 wāhine Māori from her iwi to get screened next Saturday.

Wāhine severely affected

Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand CEO Ah-Leen Rayner says the poor statistics for wāhine Māori when it comes to breast cancer are unfortunate.

“When we look at Māori, the statistics show that they’re 35 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer and 33 per cent more likely to die,” Rayner says.

Rayner says the foundation has a breast cancer policy scorecard asking political parties for screening to start with Māori and Pacific women at 40 and to have a fast-track diagnosis to be seen at a diagnostic centre within two weeks of presenting with a symptom.

“We’re quite disappointed with the response. Only the Greens, New Zealand First and TOP [The Opportunities Party] agreed to lower the screening age to 40 for all women. However, the only parties that would support a fast-track system were the Greens and TOP for a symptomatic diagnosis,” Rayner says.

Patena’s breast surgeon, BreastScreen Aotearoa national clinical lead Dr Adam Stewart, says the key to fighting breast cancer is early detection through screening.

Early detection - better survival

Stewart says recent mammographic technology can detect cancer as small as a grain of rice and that screening has contributed to the decrease in the mortality rate of breast cancer in recent years.

Stewart says the great thing about mammographic screening is it means that the lives of more than 90 per cent of women who undergo screening can be saved.

He also says Māori women have a better chance of surviving breast cancer compared to non-Māori if the cancer is detected early through screening.

Patena says her ultimate goal is to get her iwi 100 per cent screened.

She says despite the difficult journey, it’s been a blessing and she’s grateful for the support she’s had along the way.

“I’ve turned my journey into a positive thing”.

Women aged between 45 and 69 years can get a free mammogram every two years.

To enrol, contact 0800 270 200.