'Mamm Van' will offer breast-cancer screenings to three counties

Area women unable to access breast-cancer screenings will have the screening come to them this week in the form of a mobile mammography clinic.

The so-called “Mamm Van” will visit Stoddard, New Madrid and Mississippi counties to provide free screenings.

Jimmy Wilferth, Saint Francis Healthcare System Foundation executive director, said Wednesday the outreach program is the product of more than a year’s work and a partnership among Saint Francis Healthcare System, Saint Francis Healthcare System Foundation and the University of Missouri.

“This is the day mammography goes mobile, mammography goes on the road,” Wilferth said.

He said the program is a natural extension of Saint Francis Healthcare System’s existing cancer-screening efforts.

The "Mamm Van" is a mobile mammography unit scheduled to visit three rural counties in Southeast Missouri this week as part of a partnership between Saint Francis Healthcare System and the University of Missouri.Tyler Graef

Saint Francis, he said, has been providing free mammograms in Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau for 17 years, but there still are women who are unable to make the trip to be screened.

“We’re always wanting to grow,” Wilferth said.

The van visited Stoddard County Health Department on Wednesday and is scheduled to visit the New Madrid County Health Department today and Mississippi County Health Department on Friday. Wilferth said about 20 to 25 women are scheduled to be screened at each stop.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to bring mammograms directly to women in Southeast Missouri,” Wilferth said. “No matter the circumstances, whether it’s a lack of insurance or challenges getting proper transportation preventing them from getting screened, we are fighting to make sure all women in our region have access to this lifesaving screening.”

At a stop at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau before the tour, oncologist Carlos Robles spoke about the importance of early detection for patient outcomes.

He said by identifying tumors or pre-cancerous lesions sooner, the van could save lives. He said women 40 years and older should consider being screened.

The screening project is funded through Saint Francis Healthcare System’s Pink Up fundraising efforts, which target breast cancer awareness each October.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘It’s not October, Jimmy. October is when everything goes pink,’” Wilferth said. “But cancer doesn’t care what month it is. We can’t just focus on cancer in October.”

He said there already were waiting lists for each of the three locations Wednesday, and the response has been so encouraging the Mamm Van has been scheduled to return in 2018.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627