Airwaves for Health Radiothon raises $143,128

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The 13th annual GX94 and FOX FM Airwaves for Health Radiothon was a huge success, raising $143,128. It is the first time the radiothon has exceeded $100,000. It was held April 29 and 30, with both radio stations broadcasting live from the Regional Hospital in Yorkton.  Harvard Broadcasting covers all of the costs of the radiothon, so 100% of donations go toward buying medical equipment. 

“The Radiothon introduced our campaign raising funds to upgrade the mammography equipment in the Regional Hospital in Yorkton. The newer equipment will allow the breast cancer screening program at the Yorkton hospital to continue", Health Foundation executive director Ross Fisher noted. 

One in eight women will contract breast cancer in their lifetime, so this is not an abstract disease, Mr. Fisher added. "Far too many of us know someone who has had breast cancer, if we have not had someone in our own family have breast cancer.” 

“We had several breast cancer survivors attend the radiothon and share their personal story with the listeners; their sharing helped people understand how devastating this disease can be,” said Mr. Fisher. 

All of the women shared how their cancer was found through a mammogram and urged listeners not to put off having a mammogram. Mammograms are an important step in early detection, and the cancer survivors and medical staff speaking at the Radiothon all advised women not to put it off. 

“The Radiothon was a great first step in raising awareness and launching our fundraising campaign for the new mammography equipment. We still have a ways to go as the equipment will cost just over $500,000 to purchase and install, but the Radiothon was very successful and a great beginning,” said Mr. Fisher. 

The new equipment will be a key step forward in breast cancer detection technology. It will save lives. It will detect cancers that the existing equipment cannot, and it will detect other cancers and lesions earlier than current mammography equipment. 

The purchase of this equipment is also necessary to continue the breast screening program in Yorkton, which serves all of east central Saskatchewan. The screening program is very busy, averaging over 5,000 women annually. 

The only proven method of reducing breast cancer deaths is early detection, which is why breast screening is conducted. However, some women have denser breast tissue than others, which can block the test or obscure the image created by breast screening. With the new equipment, tissue density does not matter; an accurate diagnosis is provided.