Osteoporosis, a disease which deteriorates bone tissue and increases the risk for fractures, affects approximately 2 million Canadians (Osteoporosis Canada). November is Osteoporosis Awareness month,
Cervical cancer screening using the pap test remains critical for this preventable disease. In BC, provincial screening rates have remained the same over the last decade where approximately 30% of the population are under or never screened. Despite this, few interventions have been implemented to increase screening, where rates are lowest among priority populations who face barriers to clinic-based screening.
Last month Minister of Health Adrian Dix announced that BC would become the first province to share breast density results with all women and their healthcare providers with their mammography screening. Dr. Paula Gordon, Medical Director of the Sadie Diamond Breast Program at BC Women’s Hospital, along with the organization Dense Breasts Canada, was instrumental in advocating for this policy change.
In honour of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we spoke to Dr. Gordon about this change and its impact on women throughout the province.
Dr. Cheryl Krasnick Warsh, FRSC is a historian at Vancouver Island University, who also served as Executive Director of the Western Association of Women’s Historians, and Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. She presently is co-editor of the international journal Gender and History. Her work focuses on the history of healthcare and health research, and within those fields, the inequalities women have faced in accessing care and inclusion within the healthcare system.
The Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (TMIST) is a randomized, breast cancer screening trial that will help researchers learn about the best ways to find breast cancer in women who have no symptoms.
Dr. Gina Ogilvie is the lead study author on a publication in the Canadian Medical Association Journal about the sexual health practices of teen girls after the introduction of the HPV vaccine in BC public schools. The publication has been featured in the Vancouver Sun, Newsweek, and more!