ScreenZine | Winter 2013-2014

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Adapted from material produced by the Central West Ontario Be a Breast Friend Project – funded by Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation – Ontario Region. Information in this publication is intended for general public education. This should not replace the care of a licensed healthcare provider. The Regional Integrated Cancer Screening Program—Central LHIN does not endorse, warrant or guarantee any products, services or merchandise contained in this magazine.

The Regional Municipality of York,

Community and Health Services

Central West Ontario Be a Breast

Friend Project – funded by Canadian

Breast Cancer Foundation – Ontario

Region.

Canadian Cancer Society –South

Central Region

AND all participating

community members!

ScreenZine is published by the Integrated

Cancer Screening Program for York Region,

North York and South Simcoe (Central

Region) to educate the public about breast,

cervical and colon cancer screening.

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Living well

Smoking causes 30 per cent of all cancer deaths and 85 per cent of lung cancer deaths in Canada (Canadian Cancer Society).

One third of cancers can be prevented by staying active, eating right and maintaining a healthy body weight (Canadian Cancer Society).

Drinking any type of alcohol increases your risk of cancer. The less you drink, the more you reduce your risk. This means no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men (Canadian Cancer Society).

When your skin is exposed to UV rays from the sun or artificial tanning, you increase your chances of getting skin cancer. When in the sun, slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat!

When possible, use homemade cleaners and look closely at the labels on personal care and cosmetic products (Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation).

Adapted with the permission of York Region Community and Health Services

1 Colditz, G., Samplin-Salgado, M., Ryan, C., Dart, H., et al. (2002). Fulfilling the Potential for Cancer Prevention:

Policy Approaces. Harvard School of Public Health Disease risk index: Cancer. Retrieved June 3, 2008.

©iStockphoto.com/icsregional@

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A mammogram is a low-dose X-ray of the breast tissue. Mammography is the gold standard for breast screening.

You will be asked to remove any deodorant or powder, take everything off from the waist up and put on a gown. Your mam-mography technologist will take a brief medical history and explain to you that your breasts will be compressed briefly in different positions in order for the mammo-gram X-rays to be taken. The technologist will check the images prior to you leaving the hospital/clinic, but will not be able to offer any results.

Breast compression can be mildly uncom-fortable, but it only lasts a few seconds. Reducing the amount of caffeine prior to a mammogram, or planning the timing of a mammogram around a patient’s monthly cycle, can help to reduce discomfort. A screening mammogram generally takes 15 to 20 minutes.

Mammograms use very small doses of radi-ation. The risk of harm from this radiation exposure is extremely low, but repeated

X-rays have the potential to cause cancer. The benefits of mammography, however, nearly always outweigh the potential harm from the radiation exposure. According to the American Cancer Society, the amount of radiation from a mammogram is about the same as flying from New York to California.

Your results are shared with your healthcare provider usually within three to seven business days. Approximately 10 per cent of the time, it may be necessary to have additional images taken, or possibly a breast ultrasound. However, this does not mean you have cancer.

Talk with your healthcare provider about your risks and get their recommendation for breast cancer screening.

You can book a free mammogram with

the Ontario Breast Screening Program if

you meet the following requirements:

Are a female, 50 years of age or older

Have no personal history of breast

cancer

Have no current concerning breast

abnormalities

Do not have breast implants

Are an Ontario resident

To find a convenient breast screening location refer

to the back cover or visit www.cancercare.on.ca/obsplocations

Mammogram 101 with Joanne

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It wasn’t until the age of 37

the Newmarket native learned she had a

strong family history of breast cancer and

immediately went to get a mammogram.

Two years later she found a lump by being

aware of changes in her body. The lump

turned out to be cancerous. Tracy says,

“When you don’t know your history and

you’re a blank slate, you want to make

sure you’re familiar with your parts and

how they work because the only person

that can help you is yourself.”

The first time she went for a mammo-

gram, she didn’t know what to expect.

Tracy laughs as she says, “You hear all of

the older ladies talk about the boob

squeeze.” They exclaim, “I’ve never seen it

go that flat!”

She found that having the health team

talk her through the steps with open

communication helped ease her tension

and fears.

“It’s a little bit uncomfortable, but what’s

a 10-, 15-minute procedure that could

potentially save your life.”

Tracy doesn’t beat around the bush. “I’ve

met women that ignored it, didn’t do any-

thing—then you’re dealing with possibly

a stage four and your survival rate de-

creases.” She continues, “The earlier you

get diagnosed, the better off you will be

because your prognosis will be better.”

PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAVID WEINGARTEN

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Answers: 1. GOLD 2. SMELL 3. MAMMOGRAM 4. BLOOD 5. THREE

Across:

2. This sense improves after 48 hours of

quitting smoking.

4. A fecal occult blood test checks for

____ in stools.

5. Cervical screening (a Pap test) for

average risk women is recommended

every ____ years.

Down:

1. Mammography is the ____ standard

for breast screening.

3. The test an average risk woman starts

at age 50 for breast cancer screening.

Why does Asha believe screening is important? A year and a half

ago Asha’s 54-year-old mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“My mom’s first thought: I’m going to die.”

The good news is, since she was routinely screening under the

Ontario Breast Screening Program through her local hospital, the

cancer was caught early. That meant her cancer hadn’t spread

which allowed for successful treatment. According to Cancer Care

Ontario, 33 per cent of women are not participating in regular

screening.

While breast cancer is not preventable, when it’s found early it

can be cured. Asha notes neither her mother nor her healthcare

provider could feel the lumps, but the mammogram was able to

pick them up. Asha is only in her twenties, but she knows that as

soon as she is eligible she will go and get her free mammogram.

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A Pap test is a simple screening test that can help prevent cervical cancer. A Pap test looks for abnormal cell changes on the cervix. The test only takes a few minutes. While lying on your back, a plastic or metal speculum is gently insert-ed in your vagina so your cervix can be clearly seen. Cells are taken from the cer-vix with a brush and are sent to a lab to be examined under a microscope.

Your healthcare provider will let you know if you have abnormal results. Fol-low-up is extremely important to prevent cervical cancer. If your result is abnormal, it does not mean you have cervical cancer.

The HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine is an important opportunity to prevent cervical cancer. In Ontario, this vaccine is available at no cost to grade eight girls. It is currently approved for women up to the age of 45. It is ideal to receive the vaccination before ever be-coming sexually active and exposed to HPV. The vaccine will protect against the cancer-causing HPV types responsible for 70 per cent or more of cervical cancers. The vaccine is also recommended to males between the ages of nine and 26.

PROVIDED BY DR. MARLA ASH

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For average risk Ontarians aged 50 to 74 years, the FOBT (fecal occult blood test) kit is recommended to screen for colorectal cancer. This is a simple test that can be done at home to check for invisible amounts of blood in the stool.

Through the ColonCancerCheck program, FOBT kits are available from your healthcare provider. If you don’t have a family physician or nurse practitioner, you can get a kit from a local pharmacy, or con-tact Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-828-9213. The kit is available free of charge.

Samples of your stool are taken on three different days, within a 10-day period. Once you collect the samples, mail the kit in the provided prepaid envelope to a lab for testing.

Most people who have a positive test (blood found in the stool) do not have col-orectal cancer; however, a colonoscopy is recommended for further investigation.

A colonoscopy examines the lining of the rectum and colon with a lighted flexible tube and a camera on the end. The special-ist looks at the entire colon to check for polyps (growths) or abnormalities which can be removed or biopsied. A colonoscopy requires a clear bowel and preparation begins the day before the procedure. The test can take about 30 minutes and it is usually done with sedation.

The specialist will talk to you about your results after the procedure. If a polyp is removed or a biopsy is taken, this sample is sent for further testing. If all is well, most people can wait another 10 years before having another colonoscopy.

©iStockphoto.com/icsregional@

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Screening saves lives, yet half of Ontarians who are eligible are not going for screening. Dave from Brad-ford, Ontario has personally been impacted by this disease. After his brother was diag-nosed, he says "My sister [and I] got our butts in and got tested." Dave was shocked when his athletic, 52-year-old brother was diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer. "His idea of cross-country skiing is the 100-mile Coureurs de Bois race…in Ottawa." Starting at 50, average risk men and women should get screened with a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) ac-cording to the Cancer Care Ontario guide-lines. This is an easy, at-home stool test that can be picked up from your healthcare provider. Dave says, “The FOBT kit was sitting on his dresser.” His brother began experiencing uncontrollable diarrhea and was later diagnosed. For individuals like Dave who have a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer, a colonoscopy is recommended at age 50, or 10 years earlier than the age of their family member's diagnosis. Dave agrees the bowel-clearing preparation drink for a colonosco-py is unpleasant, but admits it is worth it. "If sitting on a toilet for a day is [considered] a negative experience, what my brother has gone through is a whole lot more negative." It is important to go for regular screening. Research shows when caught early, there is a 90 per cent chance that people with colo-rectal cancer will be cured.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALISHA SOMJI

Follow the

guidelines and

just do it!

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As a fit, 45-year-old woman, Janet, a cardiac nurse, nev-er suspected she had colon cancer, though her father was diagnosed with the disease when he was in his 60s. “I felt healthy. I was not losing weight, I was eating well and I had no pain…I think my symptoms were just so small and seemingly insignificant,” she says. Men and women of all ages should be body aware and notify a healthcare pro-vider if he or she detects a change. Janet confesses, “It’s interesting now that I look back, even though I had some symptoms, I wasn’t paying attention to them the way that I should have.” Janet visited her family doctor after noticing blood in her stool on two occasions and having more bowel movements in a day. She didn’t think much of it because it didn’t interrupt her day-to-day life and was surprised when the doctor recom-

mended a colonoscopy. “Still, cancer never entered my mind” she says. Janet’s scheduled appointment conflict-ed with work so she called to rebook it. The next available appointment wasn’t until eight months later. “I actually hummed and hawed, then I thought well I guess I’ll get it done.” It was good that Janet did not delay her appoint-ment because following her colonosco-py she was diagnosed with colon cancer. It has now been over a year and Janet is feeling better and ready to share her story. As an advocate for early detection and screening she says, “If there are any changes in bowel habits at all, any change, get it checked out…because it’s definitely worth it.”

A change in your bowel movements Blood in your stool

Diarrhea, constipation or feeling that your bowel does not empty completely

Stools that are narrower than usual

Stomach discomfort Unexplained weight loss

Fatigue Vomiting

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Stevenson Memorial Hospital 200 Fletcher Crescent 705-434-5158

X-Ray Associates 125 Pederson Drive, Units 3,4,5 905-751-1500

Markham Stouffville Hospital 381 Church Street 905-472-7020

Markham Woman’s Health Centre 39 Main Street North, Markham 905-472-2713

Southlake Regional Health Centre 581 Davis Drive, Medical Arts Building 905-895-4521 ext. 2665

CML Healthcare Inc. 17215 Leslie Street 905-836-2626

Ontario Medical Imaging – Chalmers Gate X-Ray & Ultrasound 328 Highway 7 East, Suite 309 905-731-4001

Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital 10 Trench Street 905-883-2004

CML Healthcare Inc. 5 Fairview Mall Drive, Suite 100 416-499-3559

Oakdale Radiology – Dixie X-Ray Associates Ltd. 2065 Finch Avenue West Suite B1 416-745-8050

North York General-Branson 555 Finch Avenue West 416-635-2550

CML Healthcare Inc. 4949 Bathurst Street, Suite 100 416-223-5460

CML Healthcare Inc. 4800 Leslie Street, Lower Level 416-493-1011

York Radiology 1333 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 100 416-494-8800

CML Healthcare Inc. 5801 Yonge Street, Suite 5 416-222-6989

Bluewater Imaging 960 Lawrence Avenue West, Suite 203 416-256-7678

Humber River Regional Hospital 200 Church Street 416-243-4160

CML Healthcare Inc. 10 Unionville Gate, Suite 204 905-479-3945

Vaughan Imaging Consultants – Dixie X-ray Associates Ltd. 8333 Weston Road, Suite B04 905-850-7478

Thistlewood Diagnostic Associates 8077 Islington Avenue, Suite 110 905-856-7061