Ontario's Catholic Women's League has put its support behind infrared breast screening thermography while expressing opposition to youth indoor tanning.
These resolutions were passed at the 65th annual Ontario provincial convention of the CWL, which took place in Kingston, Ont., July 9 to 11.
Marlene Pavletic, president of the provincial council, told The Catholic Register that each of the resolutions passed with little debate.
“What we try to do is focus on the actual material, ensuring that we’ve got good Canadian material (that’s) current,” Pavletic said. “We’ve gone in depth to make sure our briefs are solid.”
The first resolution, prepared by the St. Catharine’s Diocesan Council, looks at infrared breast screening thermography as an alternative to mammograms.
“There is a concern about the extra radiation that women are getting from mammograms, and thermography doesn’t have any radiation,” Pavletic explained.
This cancer detection treatment has not been approved in Ontario, but the council will now be insisting the Ontario Ministry of Health take another look.
“We would like them to re-do some studies on it with the modern technology of thermography,” Pavletic said.
For the second resolution, which was prepared by the Kingston council, the provincial council is joining many other advocacy groups pressing the government to prohibit the use of indoor tanning equipment by youth.
“It’s a public health issue,” Pavletic said. “Our concern is that melanoma is one of the most serious cancers and the most common types of cancers.
“We thought that if we could urge the government to prohibit the use of it before the age of 18, that might perhaps decrease the incidence of it.”
Local MPP John Gerretsen was on hand to address the delegates at the opening ceremony. He said efforts like those of the Ontario CWL will slowly but surely make a difference.
“I urged them to continue advocating,” he said. “One of the things that they’ve done over the last two or three years is have information sessions at Queen’s Park with members of all political parties, and I urged them to continue with that.”