2024-04-25 20:00:00
Residents of Wawa, White River, Chapleau, Tupperville and Hornepayne no longer have access to the Screen for Life Coach, a bus that provides breast and cervical cancer screening services at over 75 locations in Northwestern Ontario.
Screen for Life will no longer visit these communities. It will focus on communities in the North West”,”text”:”As Wawa and Hornepayne are within the area covered by the North East Regional Cancer Program, the Screen for Life bus will no longer visit these communities. It will focus on communities in the North West”}}”>As Wawa and Hornepayne are within the area covered by the North East Regional Cancer Program, the Screen for Life bus will no longer visit these communities. It will focus on communities in the Northwest, Thunder Bay hospital management said in an email to Radio-Canada.
Consequence: women from Wawa have to travel more than 200 km to go to Sault-Sainte-Marie for mammograms.
I am afraid that they will stop going there and that the number of cancer cases will increase in all these environments that will no longer be served, fears Cathy Cannon, municipal councilor in Wawa.
Nevertheless, this service was important to the community members.
women benefited from mobile bus services at Wawa, mammography only, not including Pap and immunochemical tests”,”text”:”During the past year, 125 women benefited from mobile bus services at Wawa, for mammography only, not including Pap and immunochemical tests “}}”>Over the past year, 125 women have benefited from mobile services at Wawa just for mammograms, not counting Pap and immunochemical tests, Cannon emphasizes.
This situation is very worrying.
A quote from Cathy Cannon, Wawa City Councillor
Michael Mantha, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin, who is still trying to figure out why this service was suspended, says he is concerned about the fate of Wawa residents, about 200 of whom have used mobile services for cancer screening.
Like the Wawa municipal council, he believes that asking people to go to Sault Ste or other outlying cities is a big problem.
Long trips are problematic in the north of the province: the roads are not always passable. When people receive the service close to their communities, it reduces costs, says Mantha.
The eligibility age for a publicly funded mammogram in Ontario will drop from 50 to 40 starting next fall. The councilor believes this would lead to a decision to discontinue the service in their area.
Their area has expanded and the number of patients has increased. They can no longer cover all these regions, she believes.
The province asked questions
At the April 16 Wawa City Council meeting, elected officials unanimously passed a resolution calling on the Ontario government to explore alternatives to the Screen for Life bus.
I would like us to get another bus for screening or to set up a pop-up clinic here so that women don’t have to travel, suggests councilor Cannon.
In a response to Radio-Canada, the Ministry of Health said that with Ontario Health and the Northeast Regional Cancer Program, they are working with affected communities on options that could provide access to continued support for cancer screening services in the region.
With information from Bienvenu Senga
1714088617
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