What began as a one-day breast screening challenge in two Ontario cities has now expanded to a provincewide event.
On May 4, the 2016 Mammothon will take place at more than 45 Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) sites with the goal of screening 1,000 women in a single day.
Mammothon (formerly known as Mammorama and the 50 Over Fifty OBSP Challenge) encourages eligible women, who are overdue or have never been screened for breast cancer, to get a mammogram. This year, nine OBSP locations in northeastern Ontario are taking part.
Mammothon aims to address common barriers to breast screening for women including fear, time constraints and lack of awareness. It also offers extended hours and walk-in appointments to improve access.
"Northeastern Ontario first hosted the screening challenge back in 2007 with great success and the event has steadily grown ever since,” said Nicole Gauthier, regional co-ordinator of cancer screening engagement and promotion with the Northeast Cancer Center, in a prss release.
In Ontario, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in females.
Eight out of 10 breast cancers are found in women 50 years of age and over.
In 2015, an estimated 9,800 Ontario women were diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 1,900 women died from the disease. Regular mammography leads to earlier detection, better treatment success and a greater chance of long-term survival. Research shows that regular screening of women aged 50 to 74 can reduce mortality, yet only 60 per cent of Ontario women aged 50 to 74 were screened in 2011-2012.
Visit Mammothon.ca https://mammothon.ca/ or follow on Facebook and Twitter using #Mammothon. To learn how to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer, visit MyCancerIQ.ca. https://www.mycanceriq.ca/
Participating Sites and Contact Information
Sudbury - Health Sciences North Sudbury Outpatient Center
865 Regent St. South, Sudbury ON, P3E 3Y9
Sudbury - My Health Centre
65 Larch Street, Sudbury, ON P3E 1B8
Sturgeon Falls - West Nipissing General Hospital
725 Coursol Road, Sturgeon Falls, ON P2B 2Y6
Temiskaming Shores – Temiskaming Hospital
421 Shepherdson Road, New Liskeard, ON POJ 1PO
Timmins - Timmins & District Hospital
700 Ross Ave., E, Timmins, ON P4N 8P2
North Bay - North Bay Regional Health Centre
50 College Drive, North Bay, ON P1B 0A4
Kapuskasing - Sensenbrenner Hospital
101 Progress Cres. Kapuskasing, ON P5N 3H5
Moose Factory - Weeneebayko General Hospital
19 Hospital Drive, Moose Factory, ON P0L 1W0
Kirkland Lake- Kirkland and District Hospital
145 Government Road East, Kirkland Lake, ON, P2N 3P4
