Lakeridge Health Bowmanville was proud to unveil its new mammography centre to the public last May 13. According to Lakeridge Health CEO Kevin Empey, the centre was developed for the community, to help them in the fight against breast cancer.

Thanks to the Memorial Hospital Foundation-Bowmanville, who donated $1.35-million for the centre’s redevelopment, the hospital was able to improve its facility and add a long-requested digital machine.

According to Lakeridge Health’s doctors, the new digital mammography machine gives them amazingly clear and accurate images, which are available to them at a rate much faster than that of the normal film machine. Furthermore, the machine has the ability to zoom in and out on an area, with operators able to adjust the viewing settings to give physicians a better look at the examined tissue.

For the patients, this means a lot less waiting as well as fewer re-examinations. The new machine is also very accessible to those sitting in wheelchairs and lying down in gurneys. However, one thing that won’t change is the pain an exam can bring. This is because the new machine still works like the usual mammogram, albeit with faster and much more accurate results.

Just think of it this way; the temporary pain of a mammogram is far better than the pain caused by breast cancer.