Mammovan outside in a parking lot

Cancer center and partners hold free mobile mammography event for uninsured women

(SACRAMENTO)

In collaboration with community partners, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center hosted an all-day mobile screening mammography event in North Highlands on Saturday, March 25.

African American woman with headband and long, dark hair wearing a black outfit talking to blonde woman in plaid shirt who is filling out forms.
Participant Juanita Wilson filling out paperwork with Women’s Cancer Care and Research (WeCARE) program manager Alyssa Reed.

The event, held onsite at the Elica Health Center, provided mobile mammography in the parking lot. Most patients were uninsured women aged 40 and older who did not have current symptoms.

“I’m so grateful to have these programs that help poor and indigent people. They make women care about themselves because others care about them,” screening participant Juanita Wilson said.

To encourage women to be screened, the cancer center provided $10 gas cards to participants. Advanced registration was required, and all 40 screening appointments were filled.

Results from the mammograms will be provided within two weeks.

“Early detection saves lives,” Julie Dang, executive director for the cancer center’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) explained. “We want to reduce barriers to mammography by bringing breast cancer screening services to the community.”

Other collaborators of the event included:

The free mammograms were offered for eligible, uninsured patients through California’s Every Woman Counts Program, which provides clinical breast exams, mammograms, pelvic exams, and Pap tests. to California's underserved populations.

More mobile mammography events planned

“This mobile mammography event is so important because it screens women for breast cancer who otherwise would not have the opportunity because they don’t have health insurance or they cannot afford their insurance co-pay,” said Laura Fejerman, incoming associate director of COE and co-director of the Women’s Cancer Care and Research Program (WeCARE). “UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is looking forward to holding many more of these events.”

 

UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center

UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated center serving the Central Valley and inland Northern California, a region of more than 6 million people. Its specialists provide compassionate, comprehensive care for more than 100,000 adults and children every year and access to more than 200 active clinical trials at any given time. Its innovative research program engages more than 240 scientists at UC Davis who work collaboratively to advance discovery of new tools to diagnose and treat cancer. Patients have access to leading-edge care, including immunotherapy and other targeted treatments. Its Office of Community Outreach and Engagement addresses disparities in cancer outcomes across diverse populations, and the cancer center provides comprehensive education and workforce development programs for the next generation of clinicians and scientists. For more information, visit cancer.ucdavis.edu.