The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, BC/Yukon Region has launched B.C.'s first mammography and breast health education centre on wheels, a branded bus that will visit more than 50 B.C. communities - including Coquitlam this week - in less than five months.
Tour staff will guide visitors through the interactive displays and encourage women between 40 and 79 to book a free mammogram in their communities. And for the first time, women who register on the bus will receive calls back from the Screening Mammography Program to arrange an appointment for their mammogram.
The Pink Tour Bus stop locally is set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Coquitlam Centre mall parking lot, near the London Drugs and lower Sears entrances.
Only 51% of eligible women in B.C. have a regular mammogram. According to the World Health Organization, if 70% of eligible women went for regular mammography, the number of deaths from breast cancer would be reduced by up to one third. Since the tour hit the road early May 2011, more than 3,200 people have been through the bus and more than 260 have signed up to arrange a mammogram.
The practice of breast health is important to all women and the Pink Tour bus features information in English, Punjabi and Chinese.
Visitors to the bus may also sign its exterior as a commitment to adopting breast health practices and booking their free mammogram.
For more information on the tour, go to www.thepinktour.com.
