Don't Miss the Bus! Get Screened for Cancer
Published Monday, April 18, 2022
By Caitlund Davidson
The Screen for Life Coach is ready to hit the road. From April to October, this mobile health screening service will visit more than 40 different locations providing breast, cervical and colon cancer screening to individuals across Northwestern Ontario.
The Coach travels from the Manitoba border to Chapleau and everywhere in between, including many Indigenous communities. In some cases, the Coach may be in a community more than once throughout the travel season.
This year, the Screen for Life Coach begun its travel season on April 5th in Ignace.
Vanessa Masters, Mobile Coach Coordinator at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, is preparing for the upcoming travel season.
“We are excited to once again bring the Coach to communities across Northwestern Ontario to make cancer screening accessible for the people in our region,” says Masters. “We are well positioned for a successful travel season. Cancer screening is available for age-eligible individuals who may be due or who may be behind on their cancer screening. If you receive a letter in the mail, letting you know that you are due, be sure to call and book your cancer screening appointment so you don’t miss the bus while it’s in your community!”
Currently, approximately 50% individuals in the region are due for cancer screening. Cancer screening is for people who may be at risk of getting cancer, but who have no symptoms and generally feel fine. Routine screening is important because it can find early changes that could lead to cancer.
In Ontario, the cancer screening guidelines for average risk individuals are as follows:
- Women, who are between the ages of 50 and 74 years, should have a mammogram every two years to screen for breast cancer.
- Anyone with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 69 years, who has ever been sexually active, should have a Pap test to screen for cervical cancer every three years.
- Individuals, who are between the ages of 50 and 74 years, who have no first-degree family history of colon cancer, should complete a take-home colon cancer screening kit every two years.
All of these cancer screening tests can be accessed on the Screen for Life Coach. Those who are eligible for screening, do not require a referral from a health care provider to access services on the Coach. However, an appointment is required.
“Our team of registered nurses and medical radiation technologists are looking forward to providing high quality cancer screening services and seeing some familiar faces in the region," says Masters.
Book your cancer screening appointment on the Screen for Life Coach today by calling (807) 684-7777.
To see the complete travel season schedule, visit www.tbrhsc.net/screenforlife or follow us on Facebook by searching for ‘Screen for Life Coach Northwest’.