Small northern Ont. town loses access to mobile cancer screening
A northern Ont. city councillor says she fears many women will go without the proper health care after town loses access to mobile cancer screening.
"In late February, I was informed that the Screen for Life coach was no longer coming to Wawa," Wawa town Counc. Cathy Cannon told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in an online interview.
Undated photo of Screen For Life mobile cancer screening bus operated by Thunder Bay hospital and serving northwestern Ontario. (Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre)
"I had phoned and asked why we weren’t on the list this year and I talked to one of the people in Thunder Bay and he said we were no longer on the list but not only us, White River, Dubreuilville, Hornepayne and Chapleau were no longer on the list, they only go as far as Marathon."
The bus is based out of the Thunder Bay hospital 478 kilometres away and offers mammograms, pap tests and tests for colon cancer.
Cannon said it usually comes to her community of just more than 2,700 people twice a year in the summer.
"When you look at the numbers, we had over 200 people access that bus just last year alone, just in Wawa, so people are using the bus," she said.
"And to find out we weren’t given any warning, we weren’t given anything that they weren’t coming. So it’s like OK, what do we do from here?"
Cannon said she had a meeting with the hospital's CEO who said they could set up pop-up tests for cervical and colon cancer screenings, but mammograms are harder to do that way.
"We don’t have the machinery for it," she said she was told.
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
Without any alternatives, it would force the town residents to make the 278-kilometre trip to Sault Ste. Marie and be treated at the Group Health Centre, which is already facing its own patient issues.
From Wawa, the drive to the Sault is two-and-a-half hours each way and more than four hours each way by bus.
"My worry is that women aren’t going to do it, they’re not going to start travelling to go for a mammogram," she said.
"To me,, it’s like the north is forgotten. They’ve set up clinics all along the North Shore, but nothing in this area, so we’re again left out in the cold."
Cannon said the older generation is not going to want to make the drive, particularly down Highway 17, during the winter.
The Town of Marathon, while closer, is still a two-hour drive.
Finding an alternative
At a town council meeting Tuesday night, Cannon laid out a passionate plea for support from her colleagues to approach the Ontario Ministry of Health for other alternatives to the cancer screening service they are losing.
Her resolution received unanimous support.
"I know that Thunder Bay is not going to be able to come back here because the age for screening has been lowered to 40," Cannon said.
"They have picked up more patients in their own area and I’ve been told they only did this as a courtesy because we had no one covering this area. So, they’re not going to be able to do it because they’re busy on their own."
The town councillor said she’s been in touch with Algoma – Manitoulin MPP Mike Mantha’s office and she’s hopeful Queen’s Park will take the town's concerns seriously.
"Without the screening, more women are … I think the cancer rate will go up," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Happy tears' of victim's sister after prison attack on serial killer Robert Pickton
Cynthia Cardinal said she was 'overwhelmed' with happiness when she received a text message on Monday with the news that serial killer Robert Pickton, who murdered her sister, was attacked in prison. She called it 'karma.'
DEVELOPING Police investigating suspicious substance near U.S. Capitol
U.S. Capitol Police were investigating a suspicious substance Wednesday on a street near the Capitol and where the Republican National Committee headquarters are located, the police said in a statement.
Fish oil supplements may raise risk of stroke, heart issues, study suggests
As an excellent source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, daily fish oil supplements are a popular way to keep the risk of cardiovascular disease at bay.
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada goose vs. fox fight on video
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Thunderstorms with tornado risk in some areas in Ontario, snow elsewhere in Canada
Canadians can expect a mixed bag of weather, with forecasts warning of thunderstorms, heavy rain and snow in some areas across western Canada.
opinion Joe Biden uses bully pulpit to bully Donald Trump on debates
Donald Trump had spent weeks needling U.S. President Joe Biden for his refusal to commit to a debate. But Washington political columnist Eric Ham describes how in one fell swoop, Biden ingeniously stole the issue from the Trump campaign and made it his own.
'All hell broke loose': Passengers on Singapore Airlines flight describe nightmare at 37,000 feet
Passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence on Tuesday described a sudden, dramatic drop as 'all hell broke loose' on board the Boeing airliner carrying 229 passengers and crew.
3 people dead after stabbing in Plateau-Mont-Royal: Montreal police
Three people are dead after they were stabbed in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough Tuesday evening, police say.
Cybercriminals threaten to leak London Drugs data if it doesn't pay $25M ransom
Last month’s cyberattack on pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs that forced the closure of all its stores in Western Canada was orchestrated by a 'sophisticated group of global cybercriminals' who are demanding a ransom—and say they’ll leak the company’s data if it doesn’t pay up.