Seen with the new mammography machine now in use by team members of the Northumberland Hills Hospital Clay & Elaine Elliott Women's Health Centre are (from left) ultrasound technologist Kate Workman, MRTs Brian Barter and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, Ontario Breast Screening Program client Sophia Van Nikkelen-Kuyper, senior mammography technologist Jennifer Fudge, diagnostic-imaging clerk Laura Stitt and diagnostic-imaging clerk (and NHH auxiliary volunteer) Rita Rosinski.
By Cecilia Nasmith
A year after her lumpectomy following a diagnosis of stage two breast cancer, Sophia Van Nikkelen-Kuyper's check-up has shown both breasts to be cancer-free.
Van Nikkelen-Kuyper shared her story in a Northumberland Hills Hospital press release on the occasion of Breast Cancer Awareness Month to encourage others – both women and men – to get checked.
Van Nikkelen-Kuyper started screening at NHH through the Ontario Breast Screening Program, a province-wide organized cancer-screening program managed by Cancer Care Ontario that provides high-quality breast-cancer screening throughout the province.
At NHH, the program operates both as an OBSP clinic and an assessment site, with all services under one roof, including a full diagnostic-imaging department, radiologists available to read scans, biopsy facilities, a surgical-services program and a chemotherapy clinic. The diagnostic-imaging department conducts some 6,200 mammography exams each year, almost two-thirds of which are through OBSP.
Originally from South Africa, Van Nikkelen-Kuyper has lived in Canada for 34 years (and had been a Northumberland resident for four). She's lived a healthy life – was a half-marathon runner with no previous diagnoses of serious illness. At age 50, the age recommended for most women, she began going for regular mammography exams.
After a 2017 scan by senior mammography technologist Jennifer Fudge, a follow-up ultrasound was conducted and she was asked to come back six months later for another scan. At this next appointment, a biopsy was recommended. The procedure confirmed a diagnosis of breast cancer.
During this time, her husband was receiving cancer treatment at NHH, making for an especially stressful and anxious time.
“The care I received at NHH was phenomenal,” Van Nikkelen-Kuyper said in the press release.
“All of the staff were amazing, and everything ran like clockwork.”
On the day of her husband's funeral, Van Nikkelen-Kuyper met with her surgeon, Dr. Alison Tilley. One month later, Dr. Tilley performed her lumpectomy.
Today she is cancer-free and committed to regular screening. She hopes her story will highlight the importance of OBSP, and is grateful to have this program and subsequent supports so close to her in the community.
Fudge noted that the size of the hospital lends itself to great teamwork.
“We have open, established communications with our radiologists and our surgeons, and can easily call on other departments or pull others in with needed,” she said. “It's a fluid process.”
Van Nikkelen-Kuyper loves the fact that anyone walking into NHH is greeted by a friendly face.
“That, combined with the outstanding care from everyone, makes you feel almost at home during each visit,” she said. “Having access to that kind of care in our community makes such a difference – having to travel would only add more stress to an already stressful time.”
To support the continued good work of the Clay & Elaine Elliott Women's Health Centre at NHH, two October fundraisers are planned. Curves is selling $10 Punch Out Breast Cancer Cards, good for 10 workouts throughout the month.
And Boston Pizza is hosting a Stand Up To Breast Cancer night Oct. 23 from 5 to 9:30 p.m.
Proceeds from events like these help purchase much-needed medical equipment, like the state-of-the-art GE Sonographe Pristina mammography unit that was purchased in 2018 by funds raised through the NHH Foundation.
The OBSP recommendation is that most women aged 50 to 74 should have mammography screening every two years, as studies show that regular mammograms lower the risk of dying from breast cancer within this age group.
For women confirmed to be at high rish of developing breast cancer, the OBSP recommends ore frequent screening, with yearly mammograms and breast MRI from ages 30 to 69.
Any woman aged 50 to 74 can self-refer to OBSP without a doctor's referral required. Once in OBSP, a patient will get notifications and reminders for recommended checks.