Ontario Breast Screening Program holding Mammothon 2019

If all goes as planned, 360 women across northeastern Ontario will get mammograms on Wednesday.

It's all part of an annual one-day blitz called Mammothon, organized by the Ontario Breast Screening Program.

"Our goal is to increase access to women who have never been screened or who have not been screened in the last two years or longer," Dr. Raveen Kaur, a radiologist in Sudbury said.

"We are trying to get as many women as possible to get screened."

Kaur says getting screened can help doctors diagnose and treat breast cancer.

"About one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifespan," she said.

"Most of these women do not have a family history of cancer. Early detection is very important. By the time they feel a lump, it has most likely already spread."

Kaur says there's many reasons why women put off getting screened.

"Being a woman myself, I can tell you that we put our families, our children before us," she said.

"Part of it is I think lack of time and might be a general phobia or fear to get this done."

Kaur says despite what people think, the process is not painful.

She says guidelines suggest women over the age of 50 have a mammogram every two years.

"We just invite as many women as possible to walk in because it's a walk-in policy," she said. "We welcome as many women as possible." 

A list of locations throughout northeastern Ontario is available online.