Passing learning onto patients

An Edmonton pharmacist is raising awareness about the dangers of radon gas in the home.

Hope Yakubow first learned of the dangers of radon gas while watching television a few years ago and decided to learn more after noticing more and more news reports about it.

“I initially started selfishly due to concern about myself and my home,” said Hope, a pharmacist in Edmonton. “I started doing my own research online. At the time, I had a friend who had lost both of her parents in one year with two different types of cancer, one being lung cancer. I thought there might be something about the house they had moved into within the last five years. Once I started doing research, I thought this was something more people should know about.”

Radon gas is produced naturally when uranium in the soil breaks down. It is invisible, odourless, and can seep into homes without anyone realizing it. That is, unless homeowners have a radon test kit.

After discovering that radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Canada, Hope visited the Alberta Lung Association to learn more about its radon test kits. While there, she came up with the idea that the pharmacy where she works could help, not only in distributing kits but in educating the public.

“I took the opportunity and we partnered together,” said Hope. “We have a sign up in the store and information available. Often people come in and ask questions about it and we distribute the kits.”

Hope is looking forward to hearing back from her patients about their results. She also encourages other pharmacists to help educate the public and distribute radon test kits.