Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Perth District Health Unit
"My Cancer IQ" Online Screening Tool Promoted for Daffodil Month
April is Daffodil Month, which promotes the awareness and prevention of cancer in Ontario. Throughout April, the Health Unit will be promoting the screening tool, My CancerIQ. "My CancerIQ is a confidential, online tool that allows people to determine their risk for melanoma, breast, cervical, colorectal, kidney and lung cancer," says Karen Bergin-Payette, Public Health Nurse.
Users go to www.MyCancerIQ.ca and answer a series of questions. My CancerIQ then offers a personal assessment on the person's risk of developing melanoma, breast, cervical, colorectal, kidney or lung cancer. A person's risk is compared with other Ontarians of the same age and sex. "Users can then reduce their cancer risk by following the recommendations and links to additional resources," explains Bergin-Payette.
As a person works through the online assessment, they will also learn:
- What factors help to keep the risk of cancer down
- What factors increase the risk of developing cancer
- What a person can do to manage or reduce their risk, including links to helpful resources
- Where appropriate, information on whether a person should be screened for particular types of cancer, such as colorectral, cervical and breast cancer. If screening is an option, the final assessment report will also provide links to screening resources in the community.
My CancerIQ was launched in February 2015 by Cancer Care Ontario, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Since its launch, more than 146,000
cancer risk assessments have been completed.
For more information:
- Call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348
- Visit www.pdhu.on.ca
- Follow us on Twitter
Media Contact:
Rebecca Hill
Communications Manager
519-271-7600 ext 279
rhill@pdhu.on.ca
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