Women in northern B.C. are less likely to use mammography services looking for breast cancer, and more likely to chose surgery over radiation to combat breast cancer.
This new finding was announced on Thursday by Dr. Robert Olson, the first radiation oncologist hired for the BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North. He was interested in that job partially because he was already involved in years of study on the topic of northerners' breast cancer habits and practices.
The public got a sneak peak during the inaugural Northern Oncology Lecture at UNBC (precise numbers were not available, pending publication in peer-reviewed medical journals).
Olson said his research spelled out that the farther away from a major cancer clinic you were, the less likely you were to have screening done and the less likely you were to try onerous therapies, instead resorting more to invasive surgeries like mastectomy.
"It's somewhat alarming. This is concerning for sure," said Olson. "It ultimately means less chance of survival success for rural women who do have breast cancer."
The Canadian Cancer Society's Margaret Jones-Bricker took the opportunity to remind women of the importance of regular testing.
"This research reinforces the importance of providing education and screening mammography programs in rural and remote communities. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends women over 50 - or earlier, in consultation with their physician - have a mammogram every two years."
She added that this research underscored the need to directly address the culture of the north in preventing cancer and in the healing process when cancer is detected.
Clearly there are reasons, although they are not yet determined, why northerners are less prone to take advantage of mammography and less prone to undertake radiation therapies.
"This shows an underbelly that we are moving in the right direction," said Sonya Kruger, Prince George spokeswoman for the Northern Cancer Control Strategy. The data was based on 2002 information and since then a concerted effort has been put into addressing northerner's understanding of breast cancer and cancers of all sorts, including mammography education and the building of the BC Cancer Agency Centre For the North which will reduce the distance considerably between northern patients and their treatment headquarters.
"This research will be published, and it will guide other questions that have to be answered," as to why a northern woman would say no to radiation but yes to surgery, or why a northern woman would be less assertive about screening for breast cancer said Olson. Some of those include:
How hard is it to get even basic doctor's appointments in the north, compared to major centres?
What considerations do northern breast cancer patients make in choosing surgery over radiation, compared to those in major centres?
What dialogue is going on between northern frontline doctors and their female patients in the key demographic groups for breast cancer, compared to major centres?
Are the initiatives already underway by the Northern Cancer Control Strategy helping?
What is known is that worldwide, breast cancer accounts for one-quarter of all cancer diagnoses and that 60 per cent is discovered by mammography, meaning it is found at an earlier stage than a lump you can feel.
