Osteoporosis: The Silent Thief

Osteoporosis is a condition that steals your bone strength without your knowledge – until something breaks or you suffer an unexpected fracture. While the disease can affect anyone, it is most common among women over the age of 50. 

Despite its silence, the disease is quite common – one in three Canadian women will break a bone from osteoporosis in their lifetime, compared to one in five men. In fact, fractures caused by osteoporosis are more common than heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer combined.  

“Most of our patients are seniors, women, or patients with conditions or on medications that impact bone density and make them more susceptible to fractures,” says Mithura Anandarajah, Clinical Manager of the Osteoporosis Program at Women’s College Hospital. 

Fractures can be life altering and can cause significant negative impacts to quality of life, often interfering with day-to-day activities. Further, we know that women are the heart of their families and communities, so when they are unable to navigate their days with relative ease, this can have a detrimental impact on loved ones. 

In 1994, WCH launched Canada’s first Multidisciplinary Osteoporosis Program, and today, we are the leading experts in the management and treatment of this condition. Our program takes a multidisciplinary approach to bone health to prevent and treat injuries in women. The team includes physicians, nurses, a pharmacist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, registered dietitian, and bone densitometry technologists.   

At Women’s, we know that every medical treatment and procedure begins with an accurate diagnosis. Equipment is the driving force that ensures our patients are diagnosed faster and treated earlier.  

Now, thanks to the Association of Volunteers and the Estate of Maureen Green, WCH is providing leading-edge care to patients with a new bone density scanner through the hospital’s Osteoporosis program.  

“A new Bone Mineral Density (BMD) scanner allows us to continue delivering care to our patients with less delay, higher quality images, and an overall better patient experience. This new device will allow us to integrate all 3 of our densitometers to our Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, providing better access for physicians and patients to their BMD results,” says Mithura Anandarajah. “Bone health and minimizing fractures help us keep our patients healthy, active, and independent.”   

A devoted member of the Association of Volunteers for over 17 years, Maureen Green  left a transformational legacy gift in memory of her husband, Philip Green.  

This past spring, in honour of Maureen’s memory and commitment to revolutionizing health for women, the Association chose to direct part of her gift to support the acquisition of the new bone density scanner.  

Lindsay Campbell, sitting member of the Association of Volunteers said, “It is an honour to keep Maureen and Philip’s memory alive through a number of important hospital initiatives. Their legacy remains steadfast through the funding of the Research Chair. Now, we have extended their enduring impact by also helping to ensure the hospital has access to the equipment it needs in order to continue their critical and life-saving work for women and equity-deserving individuals.”   

We are Women’s

MEET