a — + i: } Page 14 April 1984 Cassiar Conte: -_ Aprilis Cancer Awareness month Breast Cancer The sad fact about breast cancer is that spending a few minutes each month doing a Breast Self Examination could significantly improve your chances of surviving this dreaded female disease. As is the case with most cancers, early detection is the key, says Dr. Tharaikattu Abraham. In the case of breast cancer, early detection can mean the difference between an 85 per cent cure rate and having the disease pronounced incurable, he said. As evidence of the improvement in cure rates from cancer possible as a result of earlier detection, Dr. Abra- ham pointed to the decline in the number of deaths caus- ed by cervical cancer following the introduction of rou- _ tine Pap smears. Prior to the introduction of that test, cer- vical cancer was the leading cause of death from cancer among women, he said. Cervical cancer has now been replaced by breast cancer as the leading cause of death from cancer among women. Now, with the goal of dramatically improving cure rates among people suffering from breast cancer, the drive is on to educate women to routinely examine their breasts once or twice a month beginning when they are 16. Dr. Abraham advised women the most effective way to examine their breasts for early signs of breast cancer was to: : “Examine the breasts in a mirror from the front and the side looking for any changes such as dimpling of the skin—which is the most important sign—or any cracking or scaling of the nipples, pulling of the skin, any eczema-like changes of the skin or, of course, an obvious lump. Then, using the flat tips of the out- stretched fingers start at one side and moving over the entire breast, including the nipple, roll or slide the tis- sue under the fingers. If there is a lump you will feel it when it slides under the fingers,”’ he said. Most women develop lu nps in their breasts as a result of monthly hormonal changes of the blood, so, initially, the examination is to acquaint each woman with the feel of her normal breasts so she will recognize the changes when they occur. If you do detect a lump, don’t panic, Dr. Abraham ad- vises. Ninety per cent of the lumps found in women’s breasts are not cancerous. Once a lump is found, it is vital that women consult their family doctor so, if it is a can- cer, treatment can be initiated early and the chances of a cure are greatly improved. Cut-up Frying Chicken Roasting Chicken Duck Pork Chops Pork Roast Pork Steak Pork Cutlets Bacon, sliced, homemade - Chuck Roast, boneless Blade Steak T-Bone Steak Club Steak Sirloin Roast Beef Stew Ground Beef, lean Short Ribs Cross Rib Roast Meat Loaf for baking Swiss Sausage 50 Ib. or 22.680 kg. If the cancer is detected before it has spread to the lymph nodes in the arm pit the chances of-a cure are 85 per cent, he said. Once it has spread to the lymph nodes the cure rate drops to 50 or 60 per cent if the spread is not extensive or 25 to 30 per cent if there is extensive in- volvement of the lumph nodes, he said. “One of the most difficult things to do is to go back and tell a woman she has breast cancer,’’ he said. “Because of the sexual implications of the removal of the breast it can be very distressing.”’ “‘t often have to bring the husband in and counsel them together and it’s surprising to find that most husbands are extremely supportive in that situation amd the women may not be aware of it until that point of crisis.”’ “After the breast is removed it is possible to have the breast reconstructed in Prince George or Vancouver, one or two years after the surgery,’ he said. The Canadian Cancer Society also have trained Mastec- tomy volunteers who will visit women before and after undergoing similar surgery. “It is an excellent service,” Dr. Abraham said. “They can tell her many things from a per- sonal point of view about what problems to expect and how to cope—things a lot of doctors don’t appreciate like how to fit a prosthesis, how to dress and where to buy a bathing suit.’’ Please contribute to the Canadian Cancer Society today. Canadian Cancer Society Can Cancer Be Beaten? You Bet Your Life It Can! Skeena Valley Meats Super Saver Variety Pak 75 |b. or 34.020 kg. 100 lb. or 45.360 kg. The Canadian Cancer Society, as bart of its Education Program, will be running Breast Self Examination clinics in all of the major towns in the North Central Interior of B. C. At these clinics, participants have their breasts ex- amined privately by a specially trained nurse who will show each woman what is normal for her and then teach her how to do Breast Self Examination. Canadian Cancer Society volunteers will also be pre- pared to take a film on Breast Self Examination to any group requesting this service. For further information on the clinics and film presen- tations call the Northern District Office at 564-0885. Breast Cancer and Your Diet Drink less coffee, cola drinks and tea and reduce your chances of developing lumps in the breast, says a Prince George doctor. “1 see many women with breast lumps and, when | ask them how many cups of coffee they have each day, I’m amazed to find how many of them tell me they drink 12 cups of coffee—or more each day,” says Dr. Abraham. “They should know this could lead to a very scary sit- uation in which they don’t know whether those breast lumps they've developed are cancerous or not. .”’ Most breast lumps are not cancer, but until it is determined whether or not they are benign, these women are subject- ed to a very stressful situation, he said. “Breast lumps caused by fibro-cystic disease are pre- sent to some extent in all women. They are caused by the normal changes in the hormonal levels in the blood during their monthly cycle which triggers formation of lumps and cysts,’’ he said. “We know that these changes can be aggravated by the caffeine in coffee and cola drinks, the thephilline in tea and smoking, so, if they avoid these things, they may ex- perience great relief from their problems, particularly pain in the breasts before periods.’’ “These substances stimu- late the breast tissue creating an unusual pattern of hor- mone levels,” he said. 150 Ib. or 68.040 kg. Curling. by Stan Deyo Congratulations to the Marie Smith rink, who won the Ladies Bonspiel on March 17. It was a very enjoyable day out for the ladies and they especially enjoyed the spaghetti dinner prepared for them by Guido DeCecco. Special good wishes were extended to Hilda Voss, who is leaving soon. Hilde has been a well-known figure at the Curling Rink for many years and, together with her sister ‘Martha, has contributed many hours of volunteer labor for the Club. She really deserved the hearty rendition of “For She’s A Jolly Good Fellow’’. Everyone now is looking forward to the An- nual Bonspiel, which I’m sure will be a big success due to the work of Karen Brocklebank, Walter Comper and many, many others. Thanks also to Brinco Mining Ltd. for their continued Be nerous support of our annual bonspiel. Watch for draws for our final bonspiel in Ap- ril. This one is going to be an ethnic bonspiel, so we can decide once and for all who are the second” best curlers — the-Italians or the Yugoslavs. Every- one knows Saskatchewan curlers are the best! Seven rinks from Cassiar participated in the Watson Lake bonspiel the weekend of March 9-11. Joe Saro’s rink placed 2nd in the ‘B’ Event. ! Mario Gimmi’s rink placed 2nd in the ‘C’ Event. Cyril Habjan’s rink placed 4th in the ‘C’ Event. The Bruce Leckie rink had the dubious honour of being the first rink eliminated. Down Hill Races ’ The third leg of the Yukon Ski Cup was held in Watson Lake on March 17th and 18th. The fin- al standings were as follows: Women: Ist - Kim Jamieson, Watson Lake 2nd - Tracie Sethen, Cassiar 3rd - AnnMarie 'McKiernan, Cassiar Junior Men: Ist- Karl Maichen, Watson Lake 2nd - E.J. Nuyens, Cassiar . 3rd - Roy Lund, Watson Lake Senior Men: Ist - Kevin Maichen, Watson Lake 2nd - Lee Callow, Cassiar 3rd- Gary Miller, Watson Lake Other competitors from Cassiar were Marc Poulin, John Sethen, Claire McKiernan, Milan” Psenko, Dave Gunning and Jason Anderson. _ Leather Handbags, Shopping Bags, Shoppers Shorts The Store is moving into Spring with some new lines. We now have a selection of Ladies Children’s Bags, Bean Bags and Carry Alls, located in the luggage section. Some Hardware has finally ar- rived after a great deal of inconvenience. Thank you for your patience. We hope to improve the speed of delivery of future Hardware orders with - the introduction of a telephone ordering device. Remember, if you need any mise. hardware, not stocked, please ask. Fishing and camping equipment is now on dis- play. Look for those fishing reels and hunting - knives next to the tool cabinet. Maxell tapes can be purchased by. the box. of. 12 tapes at a good saving. The Maxell MX tapes ‘top of the line’ are also on sale. Please ask for these items. Like the music but we don’t have _ your particular taste? Well if you ask lan, he will special order any album or cassette for you. Two weeks delivery time. Coming Soon: Spring Hardware Flyer—look | out for this one: A line of Seiko es and Gents Dress and Sports Watches. We now carry Dynacharge pechnEeible Bat- teries and charging units, a Marketplace Best Buy - Product: Check these out: Raster Candies are now on the shelf. The Store has also been trying a new line of Bakery: Products in an attempt to offer _ - customers a wider variety of fresh breads, buns, and pastry. This type of produce is also used in the Watson Lake Food Store Bakery along with numerous other stores and supermarkets. We hope you enjoy it. The Name The Store Contest closed March 31. Watch es une announcement of winner. FI NAD TOUG New Spring and Summer Fashions Arriving Daily HOURS Wed & Thurs 12-5:30p.m. Friday 12-7p.m. Saturday 11-5p.m.. Cassiar Courier April 1984 Page 15 a LIBRARY =. NEWS By Bill Morrison The Cassiar Public Library Association held its Annual General Meeting, February 27th. The only people to attend were those who had volun- teered to stand for election to the 1984 Board. Jim Gilpin, outgoing Board Chairman, chaired the meeting. Reflecting trends felt everywhere in Cassiar in 1983, the Library saw declining ‘statistics with fewer regular users and a substantial reduction in materials borrowed. The Book Grant from the B.C. Government remained the same as in 1982, as did the operating grants from the Cassiar Com- munity Club and the Town Council. With the ad- dition of two new staff members in September, the Library has been able to operate on full hours of 16 hours a week, and to be open to the public six days a week. Returnéd to the Board for 1984 were: Jim Gilpin Pat Maguire John Marks John Wong Kathy Mercer Peggy Brohman New members are: Kerry Jones Clyde Miller Pat Maguire was elected Chairman of the Board. i A new stock of Temporary Loan Books were due to arrive in Mid-March. Temporary Loans are Sandy Crawford -books the Library borrows from Library Service Branch in Dawson Creek, for six months, to aug- ment our own collection and provide fresh read- ing material on a variety of subjects. Both fiction and non-fiction, children’s and adult books are in- cluded in this selection, which will be available to readers until September. The Library is constantly adding to its collec- tion, at the rate of about 20 books a month. In addition to this growing permanent collection, and the Temporary Loans, readers have access, through Library Interloans, to all the books in the Peace River Regional Libraries, and beyond that, -any books available virtually anywhere through © the Inter-Library Loan Network. The Library is a marvelous resource centre in your community, able to. bring the world of books to your door- step. Why not pay it a visit? It beats watching “Cheech and es for the 13th time, hands down! . Employment Opportunity Cassiar Hospital REQUIRES REGISTERED NURSES ON A PART-TIME BASIS TO COVER STAFF - VACATONS AND SICK TIME, WAGES ACCORDING TO B.C.N. U. CONTRACT | FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT P. SNELL AT 778-7206 Dresses, Blouses, Jeans; Dress Pants PHONE 778-7689 222 KENNEDY STREET _CASSIAR B.C.