Iqaluit (Oct 11/04) - The Inuktitut word for "cancer" translates into English as "a disease that cannot be cured."

Because many Northerners live in communities far from hospitals, the latest cancer treatments rarely get employed in the fight against the often aggressive disease.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canadian women, but Nunavut's breast cancer rate remains low compared to other provinces and territories.

This is one of the reasons Nunavut has never had mammography equipment -- a screening test that can detect breast cancer early. The technology is expensive and currently it is not easy to transport from place to place, say health officials.

Breast cancer survivors in Nunavut and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Alberta and NWT chapter, with the help of the Qullit Status of Women Council, are hoping a new breast cancer self-exam kit being sent to every high school in Nunavut this month will get youth on the road to understanding breast cancer while Nunavut prepares to get the screening technology here.

"Nunavut does have a low number of cases of breast cancer," said Joan Brackenbury, speaking for the Qullit Status of Women Council. "But many of the risk factors, such as smoking and diet, all exist here, so we wanted to take a proactive approach."

The kit contains a fake but life-like breast with small lumps in it.

When the kits arrive at schools, groups of students are encouraged to take turns touching the breast and identifying lumps inside it, an activity that mimics a real breast self-exam a woman can do for herself. Dr. Sandy MacDonald at the Baffin Regional Hospital, spokesperson for the Nunavut Department of Health, said Nunavut currently does not have mammography screening equipment.

In order for a jurisdiction to have that technology, there have to be enough cases diagnosed a year to support paying for it.

According to the Department of Health and Social Services, from 1992-2001, the rate of breast cancer in Nunavut was 35.2 per 100,000 population. The national rate was 98.5.

So Nunavut does what it can, said MacDonald, pointing to well women clinics in every community that teach women how to do breast self-exams.

Currently, Nunavut women must go to hospitals in Ottawa, Winnipeg or Yellowknife to get a mammography screening test and proper diagnosis if a breast lump is found. The Nunavut department of health and social services foots the bill.

Affected by cancer

Meeka Mearns in Panniqtuuq, a mother of three, was diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump herself. She was just 36 at the time.

Early detection is the key to fighting it, said Mearns in support of the kit distribution, speaking on the phone from her home in Panniqtuuq last week.

"They should learn about it when they're young, so that when they're older they'll know what to look for," she said.

Statistically, women between 50 and 69 years old are in the highest risk category for breast cancer. Nunavut has the youngest population in the country.

But that is no reason to deprive Nunavut of mammography screening equipment, said Connie Alivaktak, 50, also of Panniqtuuq. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and had her left breast removed last year.

Alivaktak is frustrated the health department's reasons against it are based on cost and Nunavut's low numbers of cases. As a survivor, she must travel to Ottawa to get tested every year now and it costs thousands to bring her down there.

"It's just a 15-minute test," she said.

Equipment is coming

However, MacDonald said mammography equipment is "on the list" for the new hospital in Iqaluit to be completed in 2006. He recognizes that while breast cancer rates are low now, there are indications they may rise because breast cancer is linked to lifestyle choices including diet, smoking and physical activity.

"As Inuit women start to have lifestyles more like southern women, we may see the number of breast cancer cases increase," he said.