THUNDER BAY — If you are driving around the region over the next few months, you may cross paths with an eye-catching bus.
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre’s Screen for Life coach has started its travels around the area and will be stopping in more than 30 communities through October to deliver breast, cervical and colon cancer screening services.
“It’s very important to detect cancer in those individuals who are otherwise asymptomatic, which means they don’t have any symptoms or don’t seem to have any problems,” said Vanessa Masters, who is the mobile coach coordinator at the TBRHSC.
“Detecting cancer early can help lead to better outcomes for patients, so we encourage people that are of the eligible screening ages to get screened, even if you don’t have any symptoms or don’t think you have anything wrong.”
The coach, which has been around for over three decades, is currently in Dryden until April 25.
The Screen for Life will then travel to various communities before wrapping its tour in Red Rock on Oct. 22. A full list of the tour’s stops can be found here.
“We bring cancer screening to a number of communities that would otherwise have to travel to access these services,” Masters said.
“Each year we try to re-evaluate the schedule and add additional communities so that we can bring those screening services to anyone in the region who may need it.”
The screening guidelines for individuals are as follows:
- Women, Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary people between the ages of 50 and 74 should have a breast screening mammogram every two years.
- People with a cervix between 25 and 69 years who have ever been sexually active should have a Pap test every three years.
- Individuals between the ages of 50 and 74 who have no first-degree family history of colon cancer should complete a take-home colon screening kit every two years.
Anyone who is eligible for a screening can visit the coach. A referral is not required to access the services.
To book a screening appointment, call 807-684-7777.
