in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 14 ,2 01 9 | 14 CommunityBreakfast for Peace Wednesday, November 20 7:00-9:30 am Our annual event celebrates peace in Oakville with the presentation of 2019 YMCA Peace Medals. This year's keynote speaker is Maggie Doyne: Maggie is the founder and CEO of the BlinkNow foundation. She has dedicated the last 10+ years of her life to educating children and empowering women. Tickets selling fast! Visit ymcaofoakville.org/peace for details Purchase your tickets today! Oakville Retirement Living Come seewhat retirement living is like at The Kensington. Or we can come to you, where andwhen you'd like. Call today to arrange a visit. The Kensington 25 Lakeshore RdW, Oakville 905-844-4000 • reveraliving.com show up for radiation treatment, which can be a barrier as it's ev- ery day, often for 25 days, she said. There are approximately 180,000 women in Mississauga and Halton between the ages of 50 and 74 who are eligible for mammo- grams, said Ginty. "That's a massive, massive, massive population to approach. You can see why it's a system challenge, not just an educational challenge." "The one thing about breast cancer is if you look back 20 years, a breast cancer diagnosis was very ominous. If we have a breast cancer diagnosis now, it's often earlier, it's often in a precancer- ous stage which can be addressed, the treatment is better, the chance of survivorship is signifi- cantly higher." "It's scary to go for a mammo- gram. It's scary to be called back for a mammogram, but you havefor a mammogram, but you havef to look at why we're doing it; (it's) so you can be a survivor. And we can't pretend it's not happening," said Ginty, who "walks the walk" as a survivor - having been diag- nosed at 47 before mammograms were routine, with bilateral inva- sive breast cancers. In an effort to boost breast can- cer screening rates, annual Mam- mothons are held at OBSP sites to provide education and encour- agement for women. They can walk in without a doctor's refer- ral. Almost half of the women who came for a mammogram during the Mammothon last year "were in the under or never screened category, and that is massive," said Ginty. "They stepped over the thresh- old for the first time; 138 people stepped over the threshold for the first time across Mississauga/first time across Mississauga/f Halton." If one person who gets a mam- mogram tells 10 more people, and those 10 people tell 10 more people, "that's what we want." Mammothons are a celebra- tion of awareness, said Sadia So- hail, clinic manager for MyHealth Centres in Mississauga and Mil- ton, which hosted a Mammothon on Wednesday. In an effort to ease any fear among women, the Milton site was filled with balloons, banners, posters and pink cupcakes and greeted by staff wearing pink. "It downplays the fear," said Li- sa Leo, site lead of MyHealth Cen- tre on Bronte Street South. "In making it a celebration, it keeps it light. We want people to know it's not something you should be afraid of, but embrace." One thing all women can do at any age is self-examination, said Leo. "This is a screening method we can do in the comfort of our own homes. You would simply press around each breast to see if you feel any lumps, abnormalities orfeel any lumps, abnormalities orf possible swelling. If something is detected, simply speak with your doctor and have them exam the area as well. It's easy and simple and takes little to no effort." ANALYSIS Continued from page 13 ORGANIZERS HOPE TO DUPLICATE SUCCESS OF LAST YEAR'S MAMMOTHON Cancer Care Ontario graph shows how the LHINs across the province vary in breast screening rates among women age 50-74. MH represents the Mississauga Halton LHIN. CCO graph STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With survivor rates for breast cancer at the 90 per cent mark today, it was surprising to learn that breast cancer screening rates in Halton are below the provincial average. To find out why, we went to Dr. Alexandra Ginty, Regional Primary Care Lead, Cancer Care, Mississauga/Halton and herself a breast cancer survivor.