By Veronica Beltran

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

TYH: When, where and how to get a mammogram

Oct 15, 2019 | 7:30 AM

Breast Cancer–it’s not something we all want to think about, however, during the month of October, it is highlighted, as October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

As a woman, I was curious about when, where and what the process of getting a mammogram is like. I’ve never had one done, but I’ve always heard about how easy it is to get one and how beneficial it can be.

So we spoke with Margaret Jones-Bricker, a manager at the Canadian Cancer Society of Northern BC who gave us a little bit of a rundown on the subject. “The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that women between the ages of 40 and 50 talk with their doctors specifically about whether they need to have a mammogram before 50, and that women before the ages of 50 and 74 have a mammogram every two years unless they are at higher risk… women beyond the age of 74 also (should) speak with their physician or doctor, whether they (should) continue to have a mammogram after that age.”

As for the amount of time you’d be spending out of your day to get tested, “it only takes a few minutes, ten minutes or so and after that, you wait and make sure it’s all okay and then you can be on your way,” she told us.

UHNBC is the place to go to get a screening, Bricker mentions you should speak with your doctor in order to schedule an appointment.

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According to the Canadian Cancer Society, one in eight women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and one in 33 are expected to die from it. Breast Cancer isn’t just something women can be diagnosed with, men can too, with around 250 males being diagnosed a year.

Although October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month Bricker believes that it is important to always have it on our radar.