Wednesday, September 18, 2024
LAKE WORTH — On Aug. 27, the Lake Worth Public Library hosted a free mammogram screening with the UT Southwestern Moncrief Cancer Institute mobile clinic. The screening was from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the library parking lot.
The Moncrief team brought its 18-wheeler with a 3D mobile mammography clinic, breast cancer screenings, cervical cancer screenings including pap tests, private exam rooms and high-speed telemedicine links that can connect patients with cancer experts immediately.
On that day, Moncrief screened 16 women inside the mobile unit. The screenings were for women ages 40 to 74, and were free for women without insurance and who had not had a mammogram for at least one year.
One of the women screened was Sanjuana Sanchez. Sanchez thought the experience was very nice and everyone inside the mobile unit was very sweet.
Sanchez stressed how important it is to get a yearly mammogram done.
“I have friends, they’re fighting breast cancer, I decided to come and get checked,” Sanchez said. “This is my third time because I’m 54 years old.”
Sanchez also expressed how important the free clinics are.
“I don’t have health insurance, so for me, finding these places is a blessing,” Sanchez said. “Because a lot of places are very expensive and we cannot afford to pay for it sometimes.”
Sanchez remarked about the clinics not advertising enough in communities about these free services.
“I think that’s why a lot of people don’t do the exam,” Sanchez said. “I think they don’t know that there are free places like this that they can get an exam.”
Moncrief Cancer Institute is a community-based nonprofit organization that helps individuals fight cancer and offers support to cancer patients. The organization currently serves in more than 30 Texas counties.
Moncrief was awarded a $9 million grant in January 2022 to develop comprehensive cancer screening programs for underserved residents.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 15% of Texans live in rural areas and there are only 300 rural health clinics. Accordingly, Moncrief Cancer Institute decided to develop a mobile screening clinic that visits more than 30 rural counties in Texas.
