The BC Cancer Agency’s mobile digital mammography vehicle is making its way to Lake Cowichan next week and will be offering mammograms to women in the area ages 40 and over.
Women in this age group are urged to book an appointment with the agency, which will be parking one of its new mammography screening coaches at
Saywell Park from Aug. 30 to 31.
Earlier this year, the Gazette spoke with Janette Sam, the operations director for the screening mammography program, who said that one in nine women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, which is why they encourage women to take advantage of these free screenings.
“The majority of women who go in to have a screening mammogram, don’t have any symptoms or problems they’re aware of and so they are quite surprised when they do find that they may have breast cancer. And that’s because we’re able to find these things when they’re so small you wouldn’t be able to find them normally.”
The test is similar to the older style mammograms, except instead of using X-ray film it uses digital receptors and computers to examine breast tissue.
Two pictures of each breast are taken and sent to a radiologist to be examined.
BC Cancer Agency then sends the results by mail both to patients and to their family doctors.
The whole process takes between 10 and 15 minutes. However, the agency still asks that people call ahead and book their appointments in advance.
They also want people to know that a doctor’s referral is not required in order to make an appointment.
To book an appointment, phone 1-800-663-9203.