Breast Cancer Foundation raising funds for new campervan

The Breast Cancer Foundation has launched a new fundraising campaign to help replace the charity's old pink caravan with a campervan.

'Pinkie' has been used for education programmes since 2014, and nurse Suzanne Bull says it's an amazing tool for reaching women in their "natural habitat".

"If you're in those communities, talking to those people, they identify that the message is for them."

But while the retro caravan is much-loved by the team, Pinkie's difficult for them to use in Aotearoa's isolated and rural areas.

She's getting a bit tired and she needs someone to tow her.

"She can't get to some of those smaller communities and that's stopping us going and seeing those women who we need to encourage to enrol for breast screening."

The latest figures from BreastScreen Aotearoa's coverage report show it's these regions that also have the lowest participation rate in the national programme.

Some of these are Waikato (56.3%), Tairāwhiti (58.7%), Northland (63%) and Bay of Plenty (63.3%). These are well below the target of 70% participation.

That's why the Breast Cancer Foundation is now building a custom-made campervan, that no longer relies on volunteers to tow it around.

Chief executive Ah-Leen Rayner says this is an important move, to make sure every women has a chance to access the services.

“Getting more women into screening and educating them about early detection is key to our vision of reaching zero deaths from breast cancer – especially in the wake of Covid-19 which sent screening levels back by 10 years.

"But if we don’t act now, we’ll lose our one of the best tools we have to deliver our life-saving messages, as our old pink caravan faces too many limitations.”

Keitha Wineti-Guptil, a breast cancer survivor from Kawerau, is one of those who has benefited from the education, and is now an advocate for what it offers.

"Whenever it comes to town, I take my friends with me to see the nurses because they teach you so much.”

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Across 2020 and 2021, Pinkie has visited 160 towns and sites across New Zealand, and met with over 6000 people. The hope is these numbers will grow with the campervan.

If you would like to donate, you can here.