Ms Cassie Rudd1, Miss Rhiannon Binks2
1BreastScreen SA, , Australia, 2BreastScreen NT, , Australia
Biography:
Cassie Rudd is a passionate Ally who has adapted 18 years experience at BreastScreen SA into her current role as Project Officer Aboriginal Engagement. Partnering with Aboriginal Health and Community Services, she has spent two years supporting women from South Australia’s remotest Aboriginal communities to access potentially lifesaving mammographic screening.
Rhiannon Binks works with Cancer Screening Services at NT Health, supporting BreastScreenNT, the National Bowel and Cervical Cancer Screening Programs. Born and bred in the Northern Territory, she is passionate about improving access to culturally responsive cancer screening through community engagement, outreach, and partnerships with Aboriginal organisations and remote clinics.
Abstract:
Access to breast cancer screening in remote communities is often limited by distance, accommodation challenges, and family and cultural considerations. Previously, South Australian (SA) women from the western Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands travelled a three-day round trip to attend a screening mammogram in Marla.
In 2025, unforeseen travelling challenges prevented women from western APY communities from accessing screening at Marla. This prompted BreastScreen SA and BreastScreen Northern Territory (NT) to collaborate to provide mammogram screening during the NT mobile unit Millie’s visit to Yulara, an approximate three-hour journey for clients from western APY Lands. BreastScreen NT operates a mobile screening service that visits approximately 20 communities every two years, providing free breast screening to women aged 40–74 years that is consistently well supported by communities and local health services.
During the 2025 Yulara visit, 32 SA women were screened, including 13 women in the target age group who were new to the program. This increased the total number of SA clients screened to 111, which was 16 more than the previous Marla visit in 2023. Feedback form attending clients highlighted reduced travel burden, minimal disruption to family life, and a positive screening experience that was closer to their Community.
The initiative’s success relied on consultation and culturally appropriate engagement with key stakeholders, including BreastScreen SA, BreastScreen NT, Nganampa Health Council, Congress Yulara Aboriginal Health Services and Congress Mutitjulu Health Service. This partnership demonstrates that flexible, cross-border collaboration and mobile service delivery—underpinned by strong consultation and stakeholder engagement—enhances equitable access to breast screening for women in remote regions and provides a practical model for future remote service delivery.