Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2015
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2015 comes to an end, we want to thank all individuals and organizations that joined us during this month to raise awareness about Breast Cancer, including: Breast Cancer Care, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF), and Canadian Breast Cancer Network (CBCN).
According to CBCN, in 2014, each day, an average of 67 Canadian women receive a breast cancer diagnosis.
For women with disabilities and Deaf women (WWD/DW), the reality is starker. They have higher rates of cancer, yet are less likely to be screened. In fact, they face physical and attitudinal barriers that prevent them from accessing breast cancer screening.
More details of these barriers can be found in our infographic on Cancer and Disability.
Our learning brief is full of concrete examples of whats working and what can be done to increase access to health care services and improve on the low screening and higher morbidity rates we find still in women with disabilities and Deaf women.
Our PSA encourages people with disabilities and Deaf persons to get screened.
We have also produced other resources on breast cancer and disability:
- Bonnie Braytons blog, Access to breast care and prevention remains a huge challenge for more than half a billion women around the world! highlights barriers that WWD and DW face.
- A blog Le cancer du sein en 2015 : Quelles options pour les femmes en situation de handicap? by Ms Selma Kouidri, our Inclusion Coordinator for Quebec highlights the importance of training health care providers for more equity in treating women with disabilities. (in French only)
- Emily Gillespies blog My boobs, my health and my life matter challenges the idea that people are consumers of health care who lose out if they do not make the right choices. (in English only).
- The findings of ourEnvironmental Scan on Women with Disabilities and Breast Cancer Screening: Identified Problems, Strategies and Recommended Next Steps conducted in 2013 for Canadian Breast Cancer Network continues to be as relevant as ever.
The Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2015 has come to an end but the fight for accessible breast cancer screening for women with disabilities and Deaf women continues.
Hanane Khales
Communications Coordinator DAWN-RAFH Canada
