Getting On Board for Breast Cancer Screening

Brampton - If you look outside your local market, festival, or fair this summer, you might spot a big, bubblegum pink bus making its way across the GTA and Ontario.

The bus looks playful with its eye-catching hue and white graffiti scrawled on every inch. But the messages are serious in nature. All are in support of raising awareness for the ways to prevent and check for breast cancer.

This year approximately 23,800 women and 200 men in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Osler was at the Brampton stop of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s Pink Tour to help spread the word on July 18. The Diagnostic Imaging team was available to book mammograms on the spot for Ontario’s Breast Screening Program, which has a centre at Osler.

“The message is simple,” says Cathy Hamilton, Manager of Diagnostic Imaging at Brampton Civic Hospital. “Screening for breast cancer is proven to help save lives. Early detection and better treatment means a better fighting chance.”

Osler’s participation in the Pink Tour was a chance to connect the hospital with the community. “Rather than only having this kind of material available when people come to us, we decided to bring it out there,” says Cathy.

Improved medical technology means that we can catch cancer earlier, giving us more treatment options that are less invasive and more effective.  In turn, this will help our patients live a long, healthy life with their families and friends.

Breast cancer screening is the best ways to detect cancer earlier, according to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

The bus is making stops in cities all across Ontario until October.  Osler will be on board again September 11 at the Rogers building in Brampton.