Last week, London got a harsh reminder of how badly breast cancer still affects people. On Thursday, Rebecca McColl passed away. She was 42 and had three children. She was from Hamilton. Starting in 2000, she played basketball for the Western Mustangs. Lately, she was a teacher at Laurie Hawkins Public School in Ingersoll. An online fundraiser got over $64,000 for her family.
A post on the fundraising page said, “Even though we had her with us for too short a time, we feel lucky to have shared our lives with such a special person.”
The Canadian Cancer Society says about 1 in 8 Canadian women will get breast cancer in their lifetime. 1 in 36 women will die from it.
A study showed breast cancer rates are rising among younger women. So, in October, the Ontario government made it so patients as young as 40 can self – refer for a mammogram. Before, the minimum age was 50.
This change will mean more screening. That should save lives. But it also brings new problems for the medical teams.
Dr. Sarah Knowles works at St. Joseph’s Health Care in London. She’s a breast surgical oncologist and the medical director of the hospital’s breast care program. She said, “We’ve definitely seen more people coming for screening. We’re trying to figure out how to handle all of them. We’re doing it, but it’s been tough.”
Knowles wasn’t involved in McColl’s care. She thinks more screening will be better for patients. For example, if a lump is found early, a patient might just need a lumpectomy instead of a more serious surgery like a mastectomy.
One problem with more screening is dealing with patients who have high – density breast tissue. Younger patients often have this.
St. Joe’s uses contrast – enhanced mammography. It uses dye with a digital mammogram. This gives very clear pictures. It can show even the tiniest growths in the breast tissue.
Knowles said, “It’s more detailed. It shows exactly where cancer is in the breast. I can look at these pictures and plan what to do in the operating room.”
More screening means cancer is more likely to be found early. But it also means more false positives. Knowles said the hospital is working on this. The big question is if younger women getting mammograms leads to more of them surviving breast cancer.
Knowles said we won’t know for sure until we have a few years of data.
She said, “That’s the hard part. We won’t have the answer right away. We have to look at survival rates in 5 or 10 years.”
If women can self – refer for mammograms earlier, what about self – exams? Knowles said they’re still a good thing.
She said, “It makes women feel good about their bodies and take care of their health. If self – exams are part of that for them, I fully support it.”
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