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At a press conference on July 8, attended by the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Yves Bolduc, the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation announced that it would be supporting the Institut national de santé publique du Québec with a major donation, in the amount of $400,000, toward the modernization of the two mobile mammography units operated as part of the Quebec breast cancer screening program (Programme québécois de dépistage du cancer du sein - PQDCS).

The mammography units, CLARA and SOPHIE, provide access to screening services in remote regions and in areas with long wait times. The CLARA equipment, installed in a bus able to reach locations with either road or rail access, mainly serves Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the North Shore and northern Quebec. SOPHIE is a portable device that can be moved by train, ship or air and serves the North Shore (Schefferville), the lower North Shore, Nunavik and the James Bay Cree communities, mainly visiting locations without ground access. The two units perform approximately 4,000 mammograms a year.

“Today, 88% of women survive breast cancer for more than 5 years, which can be credited not only to research and new medications and treatments, but also to early diagnosis. Studies clearly show that the earlier breast cancer is detected, the higher the odds of beating the disease,” said Nathalie Le Prohon, chair of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation’s board of directors. “That is why the Foundation believes strongly in playing a leading role in the fight against breast cancer by giving a major boost to efforts to make screening accessible everywhere. We are proud to be associated with a project that produces real results and can save lives.”

“Since their creation in 2001, the mobile breast cancer screening units have given nearly 31,000 Quebec women access to a high-quality mammogram that meets the same standards and requirements as those done in specialized mammography clinics. That is why it is so important to keep improving CLARA and SOPHIE, by equipping them with highly effective technology that enables instant image-quality control,” said Dr. Luc Boileau, president of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec.

“Our government has made the fight against cancer a priority, and invested significant amounts to consolidate our care infrastructure at the local, regional and supraregional levels. Success in this fight is of course a societal objective, and it inspires true community engagement. On behalf of the government, I thank the Foundation and its directors, staff, volunteers and donors for the important gesture they are making today in support of our breast cancer screening program,” Dr. Bolduc said. 

Of this $400,000 gift, $250,000 was donated in honour of an exceptionally dedicated woman, Cynthia Price Verreault, the Foundation’s chairman from 2003 to 2007.

To learn more about Institut national de santé publique du Québec

To learn more about Programme québécois de dépistage du cancer du sein

Photography : Louise Leblanc