Mobile cancer screening program returns in February

Alyssa Higginson, clinical Lead; Amber Savelly-Howard, receptionist; Meghan Welch, registered nurse; and Carrie Claxton, medical radiation technologist set up the Cancer Screening Mobile Coach Bus in the Norfolk Family Health Unit in Simcoe on Jan. 23.

Alex Hunt

Advocate Correspondent

A mobile cancer screening coach bus set up in Norfolk County on Jan. 23 was visited by 16 clients.

Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Regional Cancer Program has partnered with the Brantford Brant Norfolk Ontario Health Team to allow individuals to receive cancer screenings who face barriers when seeking medical assessment.

“The mission for the coach is to offer that service to clients who are not able to get cancer screening,” said Dr. Meghan Davis, Regional Primary Care Lead for the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Regional Cancer Program.

“There are a lot of folks who do not have access to primary care, there people are not able to access this at all, there are also many people who can’t take time off work to book and go and get their cancer screening.”

The coach bus arrived for the first time and parked in the Norfolk Family Health Unit parking lot, 185 Robinson St. in Simcoe on Thursday, Jan. 23. It will return Feb. 20.

The bus consists of a fully female staff medical team and provides tests on cancer risk factors and determining a diagnosis. It will provide tests for cancers such as cervical, colorectal as well as breast cancer, and will also provide resources on those seeking lung cancer medical assessments and nicotine therapy.

“Fear can be a real barrier, and the coach staff do everything to make our patients, the coach does a complete assessment on what sort of tests should be recommended for the individual,” said Davis. “Doing a cervix screening is an intimate exam which requires a patient to disrobe from the waist down and a lot of people with cervixes are more comfortable with a female provider conducting that exam.” 

Dr. Davis said that people between the ages of 25 to 69 should get checked for cervical cancer up to every three years. For colorectal cancer people between the ages of 50 and 74 should schedule a check-up every two years. Women between the ages 40 and 74 should get checked every two years.

“Screening is about finding something before getting symptoms. You are trying to find it before it spreads and you have a better chance of surviving it,” said Davis. 

Symptoms for cervical cancer include vaginal bleeding and pain. Colorectal cancer shows signs of bleeding, change in bowel habits, and weight loss. One prominent symptom for lung cancer is coughing blood, and for breast cancer, one sign can include discovering a lump or a mass.

There are only two coach buses in Ontario that provide mobile cancer screening. Information and bus schedule dates and locations will be available at hnhbscreenforlife.ca.