THUNDER BAY -- In an effort to continue the fight against breast cancer, the Canadian Cancer Society is illustrating the importance of mammograms with a pink keychain.
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Canadian Cancer Society is encouraging women to educate other women about breast cancer screening through their Women to Women initiative.
Volunteers were distributing keychains Thursday designed by the Society called Thing-a-ma-boob to show the importance of regular mammograms when it comes to detecting breast cancer.
“The beads on the (keychain) show the difference between finding a lump yourself versus finding a lump at the doctor’s office,” said Canadian Cancer Society’s Northwest regional manager Maria Cabral.
The keychain consists of four different sized beads, which represent the actual size of a tumor at various stages of detection.
The largest bead illustrates a tumor a woman would find during a breast self-examination, the second largest bead depicts a tumor a healthcare professional would find during a physical exam, and the smaller beads represent a tumor found in a first mammogram and regular mammograms.
“As with any cancer early detection is key,” Cabral said. “The earlier it can be detected the faster treatments can happen, and the road to recovery can happen.”
The key is knowing your body, knowing the signs when something feels different, and when something’s not normal and talking to your physician about those differences.
Cabral said the Canadian Cancer Society can’t do everything, so they depend on volunteers and the public to spread the word.
The whole idea behind the Women to Women campaign is to get women talking to one another about the importance of regular mammograms.
“Once you sign up as an ambassador you receive 11 (keychains) mailed to you, one to keep and ten to hand out to your girlfriends after you’ve had the conversation,” she said.
“You can’t just give them out they have to understand the significance of the beads, and the importance of screening.”
