Organizers of the Quesnel Women’s Fall Challenge are ecstatic over the number of women who take the time to raise money for the G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital’s mammography unit every year.
However, they would be over the moon if more women made the decision to get regular mammograms.
According to radiographer and mammography champion Jolene Hemming-Jensen less than 50 per cent of women over the age of 40 in Quesnel are taking the time to get a mammogram.
Chief technologist Tara Arrowsmith said mammograms are as much about a woman’s health as any other annual examination.
“Women need to find whatever works to ensure they get their mammogram,” she said.
“I know women who make a date with their women friends, book back to back appointments, share the experience then find something fun to do for the rest of the day.”
Arrowsmith said each successive generation of women are more informed, more pro-active, more self-aware of their own bodies and this needs to include regular mammograms.
Hemming-Jensen said many of the comments she’s heard refer to the pain involved in the procedure and this often causes women to avoid it.
“A mammogram is a quick and easy x-ray of the breast done in complete privacy by a specially trained female technologist,” she said.
“The appointment should take about 10 – 15 minutes.
“Yes, you have to undress from the waist up but the Women’s Fall Challenge has provided beautiful and discreet gowns allowing maximum personal privacy.”
She went on to explain the procedure where four x-rays are taken, two on each side and the gown allows exposure of each breast independently. The machine needs to compress the breast for the best-defined image and this, for some women, can be a little uncomfortable. Each image, from start to finish, is roughly 1 – 2 minutes.
A couple of tips for minimizing the uncomfortableness include wearing a button-up blouse which allows access for the exam; avoid caffeine and over the counter pain medication on the day, if possible, to lessen breast sensitivity; and book a mammogram about 10 days after your last period to also less sensitivity.
“Regardless of the uncomfortable nature of the exam, the better the compression, the better the image and the more conclusive the results,” Arrowsmith emphasized.
For women in B.C., breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer thanks in part to increased mammography screening, but breast cancer death rates have declined in every age group since at least the mid 1980s due to increased screening.
In 2009, 299,463 women received a screening mammogram and of those 1,283 were found to have breast cancer.
So, if you haven’t had a mammogram and you’re over the age of 40, what are you waiting for?
Register now for the Women’s Fall Challenge Oct. 2. This year, early registration (before Sept. 18) is $25, regular between Sept. 19 – 30 is $30 and late registration (Oct. 1 – 2) is $40. T-shirt orders must be in by Sept. 18 and registration forms are available online at qwfc.wordpress.com and at the Quesnel area fitness centres.
Entry forms may be completed online, mailed to Quesnel Women’s Fall Challenge, c/o 4934 Ten Mile Lake road, Quesnel, B.C. V2J 6X1 (cheques made payable to Women’s Fall Challenge) or dropped off at the Arts and Recreation Centre accompanied by a
cheque payable to City of Quesnel.
All proceeds from the WFC go directly to the Quesnel mammography unit and raise awareness for better breast health.