Re: Aging mammography equipment at Kootenay Lake Hospital to be retired
I am a breast cancer survivor and very concerned about the removal of the mammogram machine from Kootenay Lake Hospital in Nelson and having to go to Trail. This would be a hardship for women.
Young women would have to take a day off from work. Elderly women may not have transportation and would opt not to go to Trail. The risk of breast cancer increases with age, so these are just a few problems that arise.
Alice Strand, Nelson
Losing the mammogram machine from our local hospital in Nelson will make it impossible for people of limited means to go to Trail if you need a follow up from the screening mammography program.
I have been sent to my local hospital three times for irregularities on my mammogram. I am on a limited income and having to drive to Trail to get this done will mean that I probably can’t afford to go.
Who will pay my wage for the day and the cost of gas to get there and back?
The decision not to replace the aging machine in Nelson is shortsighted and does not consider all the barriers that make it impossible for women of limited means and rural communities to access the machine in Trail.
I think that some of the people who made this decision should go up to Argenta and see what it would take to get to Trail and back the same day.
Not everyone drives and not everyone can afford to pay someone to drive them.
If you have money, this is not a barrier. If you don’t, you get breast cancer and cost the health system more money.
Dorothy Hatto, Nelson
