B.C.'s first mammography and breast health education centre on wheels will hit the road this summer.
Photograph by: Ian Smith, PNG, Vancouver Sun; Postmedia News
A big pink bus aimed at persuading more B.C. women over age 40 to get mammograms launched a summer tour Wednesday with a stop at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The Pink Tour, run by the B.C./Yukon chapter of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, will provide information on breast health and make mammogram appointments for women.
"The idea is to criss-cross the province as much as we can in those four months and really bring the story close to home, into small communities, into big communities, into festivals and fairs," said Linda Morris, head of the foundation's B.C./Yukon region. "If we can reduce risk and get women in to their mammograms on a regular basis, we can make a huge difference."
The cancer foundation says 51 per cent of B.C. women aged 40 to 79 get regular checkups through the province's free screening program.
Organizers of the tour say if 70 per cent of eligible women got regular mammograms, breast cancer deaths could be reduced by up to a third.
The bus tour was inspired by a bus campaign last year in Atlantic Canada, which in turn was launched after B.C.'s earlier Tour for a Cure campaigns visited the province's malls for several years.
Morris says the bus's mobility will help the program reach more people than previous awareness campaigns, which centred on indoor shopping mall displays.
The bus will be open to the public more than 70 days. While most stops will be in the Lower Mainland, it will also roll to Vancouver Island, the Okanagan and the B.C. Interior.
Information will be distributed in English, Punjabi and Chinese and the bus is wheelchair-accessible.
"There are no barriers in terms of geography and no barriers in terms of language," said Morris.
Morris said the tour's success will be measured by the number of women registering for mammograms through the bus and through the website.
Organizers of the bus tour campaign say B.C. has the best provincial survival rate in Canada, but misconceptions about breast cancer are still preventing women from getting screened.
"Sometimes it's part of a misconception; we found there are a lot of women who think, 'Oh, if I don't have breast cancer in my family, I'm probably not going to get it,'" Morris said.
"Unfortunately, about 90 per cent of breast cancer is just being a woman and getting older."
Sharalynn Ball, a woman in her 40s sitting on the art gallery stairs behind the bus, said she knows it's important to get screened, but she was doubtful she would sign up that day on the bus.
"If nothing hurts, don't disturb it, you know?" Ball said. "Maybe if someone called me and said, 'Hey, your appointment [for a mammogram] is up,' I would go."
Dr. Moira Stilwell, an MLA speaking on behalf of Health Minister Mike de Jong, said, "If you come once, more than 85 per cent come back."
"Once you're in the system, you get a reminder letter and you're over that initial anxiety. So if we can just get women in the door, we'll have fantastic statistics."
The province contributed $500,000 to the $1.1-million cost of the bus campaign, Stilwell said.
The Pink Tour, run by the B.C./Yukon chapter of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, will provide information on breast health and make mammogram appointments for women.
"The idea is to criss-cross the province as much as we can in those four months and really bring the story close to home, into small communities, into big communities, into festivals and fairs," said Linda Morris, head of the foundation's B.C./Yukon region. "If we can reduce risk and get women in to their mammograms on a regular basis, we can make a huge difference."
The cancer foundation says 51 per cent of B.C. women aged 40 to 79 get regular checkups through the province's free screening program.
Organizers of the tour say if 70 per cent of eligible women got regular mammograms, breast cancer deaths could be reduced by up to a third.
The bus tour was inspired by a bus campaign last year in Atlantic Canada, which in turn was launched after B.C.'s earlier Tour for a Cure campaigns visited the province's malls for several years.
Morris says the bus's mobility will help the program reach more people than previous awareness campaigns, which centred on indoor shopping mall displays.
The bus will be open to the public more than 70 days. While most stops will be in the Lower Mainland, it will also roll to Vancouver Island, the Okanagan and the B.C. Interior.
Information will be distributed in English, Punjabi and Chinese and the bus is wheelchair-accessible.
"There are no barriers in terms of geography and no barriers in terms of language," said Morris.
Morris said the tour's success will be measured by the number of women registering for mammograms through the bus and through the website.
Organizers of the bus tour campaign say B.C. has the best provincial survival rate in Canada, but misconceptions about breast cancer are still preventing women from getting screened.
"Sometimes it's part of a misconception; we found there are a lot of women who think, 'Oh, if I don't have breast cancer in my family, I'm probably not going to get it,'" Morris said.
"Unfortunately, about 90 per cent of breast cancer is just being a woman and getting older."
Sharalynn Ball, a woman in her 40s sitting on the art gallery stairs behind the bus, said she knows it's important to get screened, but she was doubtful she would sign up that day on the bus.
"If nothing hurts, don't disturb it, you know?" Ball said. "Maybe if someone called me and said, 'Hey, your appointment [for a mammogram] is up,' I would go."
Dr. Moira Stilwell, an MLA speaking on behalf of Health Minister Mike de Jong, said, "If you come once, more than 85 per cent come back."
"Once you're in the system, you get a reminder letter and you're over that initial anxiety. So if we can just get women in the door, we'll have fantastic statistics."
The province contributed $500,000 to the $1.1-million cost of the bus campaign, Stilwell said.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Breast+health+centre+wheels+will+take+educational+message+across/4730261/story.html#ixzz1LTj4werE
No comments:
Post a Comment