MILTON, W.Va. (WOWK) – Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) brought its Mobile Mammography Unit to the city of Milton to offer free mammograms on Monday.
This is a part of their month long journey across the state to help bring peace of mind to women and catch the early signs of breast cancer before it begins to spread.
West Virginia Breast Health Initiative (WVBHI) set up a tent next to the mobile unit as it was stationed in front of the Misty Rose Community Center, offering pink merchandise to those who underwent a screening and telling them about all the ways they help connect people with breast cancer with vital services.
The location was chosen deliberately as the community center was named after Misty Bennett, a co-founder of West Virginia Breast Health Initiative.
“Misty Bennett is pretty much the reason we’re here. We lost Misty six months after we formed this organization, so when we decided to partner with the mobile unit, we knew that one of the first places we wanted to come was Milton and have all of her friends get screened,” WVBHI Executive Director Donna DeHart said.
DeHart said that when it comes to breast cancer, early detection is key to beating the disease.
“According to the American Cancer Society, if breast cancer is detected when it’s in a localized area, you have a 95% chance of survival. That’s why early detection is so important,” DeHart said.
Mammograms are provided free of charge to women over the age of 40, no matter if you’re underinsured or uninsured. The whole process takes 20 minutes, and DeHart is encouraging women to take that small amount of time to get checked as a precaution.
“Women are so concerned about taking care of everyone else that taking care of themselves is just not a priority anymore. And, a lot of women are scared to come and get their mammograms, because they’re afraid they may be diagnosed. But, you have to take 20 minutes. The bus comes to you, you get in the bus in the parking lot, it takes 20 minutes, you’re in, you’re off,” DeHart said.
You can find the full list of stops the Mobile Mammography unit is making on the CAMC website.
