Enhancing breast cancer screening: $3.2M campaign in Saskatchewan

The Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan has announced a $3.2 million fundraising campaign to help expand the capacity of breast cancer screening services across Saskatchewan, including the purchase of a second mobile mammography unit.

For some women, a mammogram appointment is a minor inconvenience in their day.

But for many, traveling to the nearest city is a huge hurdle.

According to Dr. Carolyn Flegg, the Medical Director of Breast Imaging with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, half of Saskatchewan residents live outside Saskatoon and Regina.

“If they wanted to get a mammogram, and that mammogram service can’t come to them, they are looking at driving hours to get to a facility,” she said. “Not everybody has the luxury of being able to take the day off, being able to drive for hours… If we can bring that mammogram to them in their community, that makes it far more likely that they will access the service and be able to benefit from it.”

Earlier this year the Government of Saskatchewan announced that the age women are eligible for breast cancer screening services will drop from 50 to 40, effective January 2025.

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Flegg applauds the move, saying that early detection is crucial.

“We want to pick up the breast cancers when they are still small. Before you’ve got the lump that can be felt,” she explained, noting that early detection often results in less invasive procedures and treatments for patients.

The new fundraising campaign aims to expand the capacity of breast cancer screening programs across the province once age restrictions widen.

There is currently a breast screening bus operating in rural Saskatchewan, but the 22-year-old vehicle will soon be replaced with a state-of-the-art mobile mammography unit. The targeted $3.2 million will be used to purchase a second mobile unit that will travel in rural Saskatchewan, doubling the amount of patients screened in rural communities.

Funds will also be used to acquire two additional digital mammography machines for the permanent screening program sites in Regina and Saskatoon, as well as an SUV that will be used to transport staff to the site of the mobile unit.

“The Saskatchewan Health Authority is actively working to ensure all eligible women have timely, equitable access to breast cancer screening services, regardless of where they live,” said Bryan Witt, the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Vice President of Provincial Clinical and Support Services. “75 per cent of breast cancer diagnoses through the screening program are early stage. That allows for more treatment options and better outcomes.”

Flegg is optimistic that the expanded screening program will make an incredible impact.

“We don’t women to just survive their breast cancer,” she said. “We want them to thrive.”