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13 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,N ovem ber 14,2019 insidehalton.com SPONSORED cONtENt WOODbiNE ENtERtaiNmENt As the holiday season kicks into gear, it's timefor presents, parties and … the racetrack?Actually, yes. Woodbine Mohawk Park(WMP) is the place to be for free family funthis holiday season, from live harness racing tophotos with Santa, wagon rides, strolling carol-lers, craft workshops and a traditional buffetwith all the fixings.Last year's inaugural holiday event was sosuccessful, WMP is turning it into an annual af-fair, thanks to its newly winterized venue."It's a magical season, and we're excited tobring families and community members backagain this year," says Laura Sikorski, directorof guest experience and events withWoodbine Entertainment. "Most of our holiday offeringsare free of charge, with free admission and freeparking."Aside from the excitement of live harnessracing, holiday-themed entertainment willinclude strolling carollers, wagon rides onSanta's sleigh, a holiday-themed craft station, ahot chocolate stand for kids and spiked holiday-themed cocktails for adults. And, of course,there will be an opportunity for kids to havetheir photo taken with Santa himself."Wewant to be able to customize the experi-ence, whether you're coming with kids, friends,a ladies' night or a date night," says Sikorski.This year's event will feature holiday diningthroughout the month of December, as well as aholiday cocktail workshop for adults on Friday,Dec. 6-- part of WMP's beverage-tasting seriesin November and December. And on Dec. 14 and21, WMPwill offer up a full roster of holiday- themed events for kids and kids-at-heart.Events run from 6 to 10 p.m., and races start at7:10 p.m.Adults can also partake in holiday work-shops, including the holiday centrepiece work-shop (Dec. 14) and holiday cupcake-decoratingworkshop (Dec. 21). Space is limited, so partici-pants must register in advance.But the pièce de résistance is WMP'straditional holiday food offerings. "Our Ter-race Trackside Buffet serves up a beautifulholiday-themed buffet," says Sikorski. From thecarvery, there's roasted Ontario turkey withbutternut squash and herb stuffing with sage giblet gravy, along with prime rib and country-baked hamwith mustard maple glaze andhouse-made applesauce.On the side, there's roasted root veggieswith honey-thyme glaze and braised cabbagewith mulled wine, fennel and apples. And forthose with a sweet tooth, the holiday buffetwill offer an assortment of freshly baked tartsand cookies, raisin rum crème caramel andtraditional Christmas bread pudding.All of this will take place onWMP's expan-sive grounds, decorated for the season to evokethe feeling of a winter wonderland--with anopportunity to get up close and personal withthe venue's biggest stars, the horses."Many guests don't realize the horses raceright through the winter, and we offer experi-ences beyond our holiday offerings that allowthem to get closer to the races and to thehorses," says Sikorski.Even in winter, guests can take paddocktours and even sulky rides. "That's one of ourbiggest objectives," says Sikorski, "to connectfamilies and guests to racing, and that willcontinue through the holiday season."For more information, or to register forworkshops, visit WoodbineMohawkPark.com. Santa, carollers and horse racing WoodbineMohawk Park is the place to be for family fun this holiday season Woodbine Mohawk Park's holiday events run throughout December. Contributed Breast cancer is a survivable disease, today more than ever be- fore.fore.f "We've got 90 per cent survivor- ship now. If you go for your mam- mogram, quite likely you will sur- vive the disease and live well," said Oakville's Dr. Alexandra Ginty, regional primary care lead of Cancer Care Mississauga/Hal- ton. "A simple mammogram can detect breast cancers early when they are small, less likely to have spread and more likely to be treat- ed successfully." While survivorship rates are up, breast cancer screening rates in the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) are below the provincial average at 62 per cent. Women be-average at 62 per cent. Women be-a tween the ages of 50 and 74 should be screened every two years, ac- cording to the Ontario Breast Cancer Screening Program (OBSP). Generally, fear or lack of time can be reasons why many women postpone mammograms - but within the borders of Mississauga and Halton specifically, there are also obstacles of cultural beliefs. The Mississauga Halton LHIN ranks third in the highest immi- grant population volumes in On- tario. Screening rates are something the medical community has struggled with, said Ginty as pop- ulations soar in both regions, with large percentages of new im- migrants and "we're not reaching them in their language and cul- ture." Newcomers to the country are not often aware of the importance of screening, while cultural is- sues often arise when it comes to both breast and cervical screen- ing, said Ginty. "At the moment, penetration through primary care has been the way we do it." It's important, however, that the medical system look at initia- tives in other successful regions - such as spreading the word through churches, having more access to mobile screening units and perhaps extending mammo- gram hours into the evenings and weekends, making it easier to ac- commodate women who are car- ing for children or grandchildren, can't take time off work, or have no access to transportation, she said. "Truly, it's not just an educa- tion thing; it's a system change. We have to change our systemWe have to change our systemW too." Mammograms, Ginty pointed out, are not lifesavers, but are one component of improving breast cancer survival rates. It's not just about educating women to show up, it's educating doctors of the importance of ensuring people ANALYSIS BREAST CANCER SCREENING RATES IN HALTON BELOW PROVINCIAL AVERAGE Dr. Alexandra Ginty, breast cancer survivor and Regional Primary Care Lead, Cancer Care Mississauga Halton (left) said the medical community has "struggled" with breast cancer screening rates in Halton that fall below the provincial average. Alexandra Ginty photo See ORGANIZERS, page 14 KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com QUESTION: WHY DOES HALTON REGION FALL SHORT OF THE PROVINCIAL AVERAGE FOR BREAST CANCER SCREENING RATES? CONCLUSION: FEAR, LACK OF TIME IN BUSY SCHEDULES ARE FACTORS. HOWEVER, A MAJOR STRUGGLE HERE IS CONVEYING TO NEW IMMIGRANTS THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAST SCREENING FOR CANCER.