Mobile breast cancer screening coming to Castlegar
By Interior Health Authority
Approximately one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. It is the most common type of cancer found in women in BC with around 3,500 BC women receiving a breast cancer diagnosis each year. Regular screening mammograms can find breast cancer early, often before it has spread.
About 10 per cent of all screening mammograms performed in BC are done on the mobile units.
Three mobile screening coaches visit more than 170 rural and remote communities across BC each year, including over 40 Indigenous communities. The vehicles provide state-of-the-art digital screening mammograms, are wheelchair-accessible, and feature a spacious waiting area and comfortable private examination room.
BC Cancer’s breast cancer screening coach will be in the Castlegar area on the following dates:
Castlegar – Shoppers Drug Mart – Columbia Ave [1965 Columbia Avenue]
March 23-28, March 30-31, April 1
To book a screening mammogram call 1-800-663-9203. A doctor’s referral is not required.
BC Cancer’s breast screening program offers no-cost screening mammograms to eligible women in BC. A screening mammogram consists of four images (two of each breast) that look for hidden cancer in women who are healthy with no symptoms and have never had breast cancer. Mammograms can usually find lumps two to three years before a woman or her primary care provider can feel them.
“Mammograms save lives by detecting breast cancers early, often before they have spread and when more treatment options are available,” says Dr. Colin Mar, medical director for the breast screening program. “More women in BC are being diagnosed with breast cancer, but fewer are dying from the disease. This is in large part due to early detection and treatment.”
It is recommended that women age 40 to 74 who have a mother, daughter or sister with breast cancer receive a mammogram every year. Women age 40 to 74 without a family history of breast cancer should schedule a mammogram every two years.
For more information, visit www.ScreeningBC.ca/breast.
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