Niagara's Newest Clinic
- March 2008
- Français
As more and more baby-boomers move into their 50's and beyond, the expansion of cancer screening and other disease prevention clinics is occurring in Niagara to help maintain and improve population health.
A new clinic has opened to serve the community of Fort Erie, which numbers about 30,000 residents. An Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) satellite clinic opened March 3 at Douglas Memorial Hospital Site to provide breast screening services to women aged 50 to 74. Diagnostic Imaging staff is anticipating 400 to 500 women will take advantage of the clinic in its first year by calling directly to 905-871-4673 to make an appointment.
As the demand for clinic appointments increase, so will staffing and clinic hours. "Obviously, we would like to see all women in this age group coming to the clinic for screening and we want to encourage that as much as possible," says Bonnie Sipos, Regional Director of Diagnostic Services at the Niagara Health System. "About 4,000 women in Fort Erie are in this age group."
"We want to get the message out to women that they can call directly to an OBSP Centre to make an appointment for breast screening. More women need to take advantage of the service that's available in their own community."
Mortality Rates
Does regular screening for breast cancer make a difference? A resounding 'yes' is the answer from Cancer Care Ontario, the parent agency of OBSP. While the incidence of breast cancer among women aged 50 to 69 is increasing, mortality or death from breast cancer in women in that age group has declined by 33% from 1989 to 2004!
In fact, breast cancer mortality has been falling in all age groups. This drop is generally attributed both to better treatments and to more screening, which detects cancers when they are still small so that treatment can be more effective.
"The most important way to save lives from breast cancer is to make sure all women aged 50 and over have access to high quality screening services," said Dr. George Pasut, vice president, Prevention and Screening, Cancer Care Ontario. "This new OBSP site at Douglas Memorial Hospital ensures the women of Fort Erie receive high quality breast screening close to home."
Five Niagara OBSP Centres
In Niagara, there are now five OBSP Centres, all at Niagara Health System hospitals – Douglas Memorial Hospital Site (Ft. Erie), Greater Niagara General Site (Niagara Falls), Port Colborne General Site, St. Catharines General Site and Welland Hospital Site.
Until now, Fort Erie women travelled to Welland or Niagara Falls to go to an OBSP Centre every two years. Betty Keller, a resident of Fort Erie and one of the first patients to be examined at Fort Erie's new clinic, was one of those women. "I always went to Welland, but as I get older, the travelling is more of an effort," Betty says. "It is wonderful to have the OBSP clinic in our own hospital now. I am proud to be one of the first patients. I encourage all women to make the phone call for their own health."
The Examination
At the new clinic, patients will first be seen by a Nurse Examiner who conducts a physical breast examination and provides breast health teaching. From there, the patient will have a mammogram completed by the Mammography Technologist, which involves applying compression to the patient's breasts and obtaining x-ray images to screen for any abnormalities in breast tissue. Following the exam, images are read by a DMH Radiologist and a result letter is sent to both the patient and her physician. If an abnormality is found, the patient will go to the OBSP Assessment Clinic at Greater Niagara site, where further consultation, biopsy and tests will be conducted or scheduled as needed.
Auxiliary Support
Betty is a member of the Douglas Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, which raised funds to pay for renovations to the OBSP clinic area. "Without the Auxiliary's support of $125,000 for renovations, this clinic would never have been a reality," Bonnie says. "Their generosity and support has been overwhelming."
Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland OBSP Centres offer full screening services as well as follow-up diagnostics and treatment services. Satellite OBSP clinics in Pt. Colborne and Fort Erie offer nurse examination and screening mammography with follow-up care provided at Greater Niagara or Welland Hospital Sites. All of our screening centres are accredited through the Canadian Association of Radiologists.
Appointments can be arranged by calling:
- Fort Erie OBSP - 905-871-4673
- Niagara Falls OBSP - 905-358-4952
- St. Catharines OBSP - 905-378-4647 ext. 46345
- Welland OBSP - 905-732-5434
- Port Colborne OBSP - 905-835-5842