Oct 24: KEMH Breast Health Awareness Day

BHB will host a special breast health awareness day on Tuesday, October 24th at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Mammography Department.

The goal is to help women over 40 who have not had their mammogram this year with a special walk-in service from 8am to 11am, and and open house from noon to 2pm so women who haven’t had their first mammogram yet can come in and meet the team, ask questions and see the equipment over refreshments.

Senior Imaging Technologist of Mammography, Terricca Smith, comments: “We know that many women fear their mammogram will be painful, and just having the test can result in anxiety that something will be found.

“As it is breast health awareness month, on Tuesday 24 October we wanted to give women the chance to ask our mammography technologist questions and see the equipment at an open house between noon and 2pm.

“This is especially for women who might be close to having their first mammogram and have concerns or questions, but any woman is welcome if they want to come and see the service we offer at the hospital.”

Mrs Smith adds: “We also know that women 40 and over are extremely busy with careers and home responsibilities. It is easy to forget to make that mammogram appointment, so we are having a special walk in mammography service on the same day from 8am to 11am.

“Women 40 or over who have had not had a mammogram in the last year can walk in and get their test. Your breast health is our concern and, as early detection saves lives, we want to help make women as comfortable as possible about their mammogram.”

BHB provided these Bermuda Breast Cancer Facts:

According to the Bermuda Tumour Registry Annual Report 2016:

• Breast cancer was the most registered cancer in Bermuda in 2015 irrespective of gender [62] followed by prostate cancer [56] [p7]

• For women in Bermuda, breast cancer had the highest number of registered cancers [62], followed by cervix uteri cancers [26] and colorectal cancers [10] [p8]

• 1 in 5 [20.9%] of breast cancers occurred in women aged 40 to 49 in Bermuda in 2015 [p8]

According to the Bermuda Tumour Registry Annual Report 2015:

• 72.4% of registered breast cancers in Bermuda were diagnosed as in situ or stage 1 [p13]
• According to the American Cancer Society, the survival statistics by stage are:

Stage – 5-year Relative Survival Rate

• 0 – 100%
• 1 – 100%
• 2 – 93%
• 3 – 72%
• 4 – 22%

#BermudaHospitals #Health

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