Women in the Okotoks area are invited to get screened for breast cancer this month.
The Screen Test Alberta mobile mammography unit will make a stop in Okotoks from March 30 to April 1 at the Okotoks Recreation Centre parking lot, and appointments must be pre-booked to follow COVID-19 procedures. No walk-ins will be available.
Joan Hauber, manager of Screen Test for Alberta Health Services, said there are many precautions being taken in light of the pandemic to make the mobile screening unit a safe option for patients and staff.
“If women have had mammograms with our Screen Test mobile unit before, the procedure might be a little bit different this year,” said Hauber.
When appointments are made, the booking clerks will walk women through what to expect, she said.
Screening mammography is open to women age 50 to 74, which is the prime age range for best results, she said. The mammogram can detect cancer at an early stage, giving women more time and treatment options and increasing survival rates, she said.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common among women excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, and the second-leading cause of death for Canadian women.
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that more than 27,000 were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 and about 5,100 would have died to the disease.
“On average, 75 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every day,” the cancer society website states. “On average, 14 Canadian women will die from breast cancer every day.”
Hauber said though cancer may occur in women of any age, screening mammograms are less effective on women younger than 50, and especially in those 40 and under.
She said women who are 40 to 49 or 75 and over are encouraged to speak with their family physician prior to booking a test to see whether it is a viable option for them.
It comes down to the composition of breast tissue, she said.
“Women who are prior to menopause, usually 40 to 49, they tend to have denser breasts,” said Hauber. “The denser the breast is, the less effective mammography is because, with a mammogram, a cancer often shows up as very dense, kind of a white-looking area, and unfortunately that’s kind of what dense breast tissue looks like.”
She said for pre-menopausal women a mammogram could still be beneficial, but not as effective and reliable as for those who are just a little older. Screening mammography is not available to those under 40.
On the other end of the age spectrum, she said those who are 75 or older are also advised to consult with their doctor prior to booking an appointment, as there could be other underlying medical concerns at play.
“That’s a conversation to have with the family physician just to see, based on the personal medical situation at the time, if they think mammograms are something you need to pursue,” said Hauber.
For those in the 50 to 74 age range, she said regular mammograms are an important part of regular health routines, which is why the two Screen Test mobile units make annual visits to 120 rural communities, with one trailer visiting northern regions and the other travelling through the central and southern parts of the province.
She said COVID threw a small wrench into the schedule last year, as screening schedules were cancelled in March and picked up in June.
“We are a little bit behind because services were suspended for a little bit at the beginning of COVID,” said Hauber. “We do intend to go to all of our communities we normally go to, we just might not be on time for all of them.”
The Screen Test trailer will also visit Nanton from April 5 to 9, Claresholm from April 10 to 20, Black Diamond from April 21 to 24 and Vulcan from April 26-30.
For a full schedule and more information visit www.screeningforlife.ca. To book a mammogram, call 1-800-667-0604.
