The Västra Götaland region is in 13th place among Sweden's regions in terms of participation in screening for breast cancer.
84 percent participate in the region, which is higher than the average in Sweden, which is 81 percent.
The report is published today, but the figures are from 2018. It is thus not a pandemic effect report.
Differences between municipalities
You see big differences between municipalities in the region.
In Tidaholm, participation is only 51 percent compared to Vårgårda, where 91 percent are screened.
In Gothenburg, the figure is 81 percent.
If all municipalities were as good as Vårgårda, it would mean that just over 11,000 more women would participate in screening in the region.
- We have analyzed differences before, but between the municipalities we have not seen such a big difference before, says Maria Edegran, process owner for mammography screening in Västra Götaland.
Risk of cancer not being detected
The report also shows that socio-economic factors such as income and degree of education affect participation in the screening.
Which means that in some districts there is a greater risk that cancer will not be detected in time.
- Previously, there was a big difference between districts, but we have been actively working on this, so now the difference is a little smaller. It is difficult and this is due, for example, to the fact that there are many new arrivals in the areas where you go less often and it can take time to reach out with information, says Maria Edegran.