Hamilton researcher gets nearly $1M for cancer screening

A researcher from McMaster University's School of Nursing has received nearly $1 million to encourage cancer screening in Hamilton-area low-income neighbourhoods.

Olive Wahoush, an assistant professor, received about $912,000 from the Public Health Agency of Canada. Her project will promote screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers.

Wahoush's project, with Hamilton public health nurse Angela Frisina, will start as a pilot in Hamilton. Eventually, it could expand to Halton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk, Brant and local aboriginal communities.

"We want to see what works best to promote cancer screening in communities across Canada," Wahoush told McMaster's Daily News.

"It's not just that they become aware, but that they actually take action and get screened."  

In May, the latest numbers from the Cancer System Quality Index (CSQI) showed that Hamilton's five-year survival rate for breast, colorectal and lung cancers lags behind the province.

It coincided with low rates of screening in typically low-income areas, including Hamilton's lower city and parts of St. Catharines and Norfolk County.

"If we can detect cancer early then survival rates go up," said Dr. Bill Evans, president of the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre and regional vice-president of Cancer Care Ontario.

Wahoush and Frisina will work on the screening project with public health units from Halton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk and Brant County, as well as Brock University.

A social marketing consultant will be hired for the project, which is known as Creating Access to Screening and Training in the Living Environment (CASTLE).

One person from each region will be trained to encourage cancer screening. Community volunteers will also act as ambassadors to encourage screening.