Sioux Lookout First Nation Health Authority launches campaign encouraging cancer screenings

The Sioux Lookout First Nation Health Authority – or SLFNHA – has launched a new campaign aimed at raising more awareness around cancer.

It’s called the Cancer Survivorship Campaign, and focuses on the importance of regular screening, early detection, celebrating resilience with cancer, and life after cancer.

It also features stories from three women from the region who have lived through cancer, and are using their experiences to inspire others to get screened regularly.

“We're hoping that for those areas of screening, which was in cervical cancer screening as well as mammograms as well as doing FIT tests, is that we will see increased participation from all the communities and that we can increase the screening,” said Janet Gordon, vice president of community health for SLFNHA.

The campaign is in partnership with the North West Regional Cancer Program and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and has the theme of “Let’s Talk About Cancer, Healing, and Hope.” 

The three people who are featured in the campaign include Connie Gray-McKay, a breast cancer survivor from Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation, Pauline Lac Seul, an endometrial cancer survivor from Lac Seul First Nation, and Norine Van Breda, a colon cancer survivor from Hudson, Ontario.

Each survivor brings their own unique experience and perspective, while also reflecting the different paths through diagnosis, treatment, and healing.

“We know from the data that far too many people in the communities SLFNHA serves are not getting screened regularly. In some cases, fewer than one in three people are participating in screening,” says David McConnell, Director of the North West Regional Cancer Program. 

Gordon acknowledges there is some fear in the communities regarding being diagnosed and people seeing others getting diagnosed, but she said with the advancement of treatments she encourages people to get it done sooner rather than later.

And while fear may be a factor, another challenge she notes is accessibility and the ongoing work to ensure people within these communities can receive help when needed.

“For mammograms, the women that are eligible to get a mammogram have to come out of their community. It can't be done in the community,” said Gordon.

“I think it's more challenging for our area because we have … 33 communities that we're working with. And so there are certainly those complications or challenges around travel, around access, not enough workers in our community.”

“So it makes it challenging because people are dealing with crises every day, acute situations. So those screenings that need to happen don't happen because everything else takes over,” said Gordon.

More information, along with videos of the survivor stories, can be found here.