Women living on Kehewin Cree Nation will soon have better access to breast cancer screening.
As Screen Test marks its 25th year in operation this fall, it will also be making its first stop in Kehewin.
“It was initiated by the community health staff there. They felt it was an important service to the women in their community and contacted us,” said Screen Test community coordinator Harmony McRae, adding that there is an application process they had to get approved through.
“We're realizing more and more in First Nations communities, they're underserved and they don't have access to a lot of services, and they have other barriers like transportation.”
An initiative under Alberta Health Services (AHS), Screen Test operates two mobile mammography units that cover rural areas across the province. The trailers are taken to 120 communities each year to provide access to breast cancer screening to hundreds of women who may not have otherwise been able to get a mammogram due to their distance from the city.
“Breast cancer is still very common in Alberta; it's the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women,” explained McRae. “Mammograms can help find breast cancer earlier than when a woman would find a lump herself or by her doctor.”
According to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, one in every nine women in the country are expected to develop breast cancer during their lifetime and one in 30 will die from it. In 2015, an estimated 481 women on average were diagnosed with the disease each week.
In Alberta last year, the foundation estimates that 2,300 women were told they have breast cancer.
Through early detection by mammograms, followed by treatment, McRae expressed that they can help to increase the chance of survival for women.
Since starting Screen Test, the program has continued to grow in popularity, being fully booked at nearly every stop it makes.
The mobile mammography unit will be in Kehewin on Oct. 4 and 5, with 60 spots available for women between the ages of 50 and 74.
Each appointment takes about 15 to 20 minutes, including a short questionnaire on topics such as family history, and the actual test completed by the digital machine that takes four x-ray pictures. Two to three weeks following the appointment, women can expect a letter in the mail with their results.
“We want to make sure women (in Kehewin) have adequate access to this screening, so we're bringing the service out to them.”
Any woman between 50 and 74-years-old who would like to make an appointment can call the Kehewin health centre at 780-826-2913. The service is also available for women between the ages of 40 and 49, however, at that age you need a referral from a doctor.
For more information, go to www.screeningforlife.ca/screentest.
