History

A Steering Committee was formed in 1995 with a view to form an Australian Society of Senology (ie. breast disease), based on the concept of a need to provide a multidisciplinary society which would bring together individuals interested in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research into aspects of breast disease.

The Steering Committee consisted of Dr Cherrell Hirst (Chair), Dr Michael Bilous, Dr John Boyages, Dr Colin Furnival, Dr Jack Jellins, and Dr Mary Rickard.

A number of similar societies were in existence in different countries but no comparable group was present in Australia. The formation of such a society in Australasia was encouraged by the Senologic International Society (SIS) which had shown that a multidisciplinary approach to breast disease provided the best medical management for the patient.

On the recommendations of the Steering Committee, the Australasian Society for Breast Disease (ASBD) was established in 1997 to provide a multidisciplinary forum for discussion on the prevention, detection, diagnosis and management of breast disease and research into this area of medicine.

Dr Cherrell Hirst from Brisbane was the first President of the Society, and the inaugural scientific meeting was held in September 1998 at the Marriott Surfers Paradise Resort on the Gold Coast in Queensland. More than 200 registrants attended the Meeting, and the speakers covered a variety of topics devoted to developing best practice in the medical management of patients with breast disease.

To date, scientific meetings have been held biennially. See the Meetings page for details.

In 2004, the Australasian Society for Breast Disease was accepted as an Honorary Member of the Scientific Centers Network of the Senologic International Society, and this will enable the Australasian Society for Breast Disease to participate and collaborate to a greater extent in international activities relevant to improving the management of breast disease. 

Membership benefits of the Australasian Society for Breast Disease include a print subscription to and / or online access to full text articles of The Breast, a peer reviewed, bimonthly journal published by Elsevier.

In 2016 at the Strategic Planning Meeting on 13th February it was decided to launch a new level of ASBD membership, to be inclusive of the whole multidisciplinary team. The level of Associate Member was introduced for nursing, allied health, trainees and registrars. The membership has a heavily discounted membership fee, online journal access, conference registration discounts but no voting rights.

In 2017 the Australasian Society for Breast Disease celebrated 20 years at the 11th Scienitfic Meeting. Read about it here.

Dr Yvonne Zissiadis was elected as the Senologic International Society vice-president Oceania in 2019. Dr Zissiadis will attend the 21st World Congress of the Senologic International Society in Greece in 2020, representing the Australasian Society for Breast Disease.