LAKELAND - Every year, women across Alberta – including the Lakeland region – are able to get screened for breast cancer in their home communities through the provincial Screen Test program, which operates two mobile mammography units in the southern and northern regions of the province.
The Screen Test program is administered by Alberta Health Services (AHS). Throughout the course of the year, Screen Test visits over 120 communities across Alberta, including 28 Indigenous communities. The mobile mammogram unit also has a presence in communities in the Lakeland region such as Bonnyville, Cold Lake, Elk Point, Lac La Biche, and St. Paul.
‘Clinics on wheels’
Screen Test operates fixed sites at locations in Edmonton and Calgary for the purposes of providing mammography services. These sites also support the mobile clinics that travel around Alberta.
The mobile trailers, explains Chidinma Okoli, the health promotions facilitator for Screen Test, are equipped with digital mammography equipment and all services are provided by two technologists.
“The 53–foot trailers are “clinics on wheels” complete with a reception room, dressing room and an exam room,” he told Lakeland This Week, adding that a mammogram takes about 10 minutes, with the results available in about two-three weeks either on MyAHS Connect or mailed directly to clients.
According to Okoli, Screen Test schedules the visits for when clients are due for a mammogram. These clients, he explained, will receive a letter six weeks before the clinic to notify them of the date and location of the mobile unit in the community. On an average year, he added, 12,000-15,000 women across Alberta use this service.
While walk-ins may be accepted, this is only if there are appointment times available, Okoli continued. Therefore, it’s best to book ahead of time.
“It is preferable to book an appointment, so a spot is guaranteed,” he stated.
Okoli said the offices in Edmonton and Calgary opened in 1990 while the mobile program got underway in 1991. Generally, he added, Screen Test has good participation rates in the communities it serves. Furthermore, the program has been beneficial in detecting breast cancer.
“2021 data showed that since the launch in 1990, Screen Test has completed over 540,000 mammograms with about 3,000 breast cancers detected,” he said.
Those wanting to book an appointment with Screen Test are asked to call the program’s booking line at 1-800-667-0604. More information about Screen Test-including locations and dates when the mobile trailers will be in certain communities-can be found on the Screen Test website.
In September, the Alberta government and AHS announced $1.5 million in funding to also provide a mobile lung health program to Albertans living in “underserved” rural communities.
Home kits for cervical screening
In keeping with the priority of focusing on early detection of cancer, on Sept. 26, the government of Alberta also announced a pilot project whereby Alberta residents, using take-home kits, can screen themselves for cervical cancer.
According to information from the provincial government, these test kits contain supplies needed for people to test themselves. After a test is done, kits are sent to labs, with the results provided to patients and health professionals.
This pilot project is part of the provincial Cervical Cancer Screening Program.
In a press release, Adriana LaGrange, the provincial minister of health, praised the early detection program.
“We know cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable with routine immunization and regular screening, which is why this pilot project is so important,” LaGrange said. “This represents a vital next step towards eliminating cervical cancer altogether.”
