Niagara resident Gay Culp credits a purse cleaning with leading to a mammogram that discovered breast cancer in the very early stages. It was 2005 and Gay was due for a routine mammogram. But life got busy, and the booking information ended up lost in the bottom of her very full purse.
“After a couple of months I decided to clean out my purse and found the information,” said Gay, who had completely forgotten that she was due for screening.
Fortunately, Gay booked right away because her mammogram showed signs of breast cancer and a biopsy confirmed very tiny cancer.
“The mammogram caught the cancer early,” said Gay, who has no family history of breast cancer and has had no recurrences.
“If I had left it, then it would have been a much bigger issue,” said Gay, who encourages all women to stay up-to-date with cancer screening as part of their routine medical care.
The Ontario Breast Screening Program offers free mammograms to women ages 50-74 every two years as part of their routine medical care. If you’re overdue for your mammogram or have never been screened, Just Book It by visiting hnhbscreenforlife.ca or calling 1-800-668-9304.