About 2,000 low-income women at high risk of breast cancer will be given free mammograms in a bid to save lives from the commonest cancer striking women.
The screening programme was unveiled yesterday by the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation.
Foundation chairwoman Joanna Choi Leung Yuen-mei said there was a low awareness of the need to have mammograms. A study by the foundation in 2006 found that 30 per cent of women in the 40 to 59 age group have never had a mammogram.
Worldwide, just 28 countries have mass screening programmes. In Asia, only Japan and Singapore have such programmes.
Calls have been made over the years for Hong Kong to start such a programme but experts have questioned its cost effectiveness.
A University of Hong Kong study released last year questioned the value of mammograms to screen for breast cancer, saying the city would have to double the HK$400 million it spends on cancer screening and treatment before these could be considered 'a good buy' for older women.
The foundation said the cost of a mammogram, from HK$700 to HK$1,800, might be a deterrent.
