Partnership brings mammograms to Western Pennsylvania's rural and underserved communities
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A week before the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Pittsburgh-area leaders are addressing the gaps in rural and underserved communities when it comes to breast health care for women.
Local leaders are working together to bring more access. On Tuesday, that meant transporting people to screenings from places like food banks.
Republican Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward knows firsthand what it's like to have breast cancer. While she caught it early, others are not as fortunate.
"Every woman deserves to have her total exam so that we know and we catch breast cancer early," Ward said.
There's a correlation between access to food and health care, and women weighing their importance.
"One in eight women get breast cancer, and how many families have to come to the food bank to be able to feed those families?" Ward said.
"When families are worried about putting food on the table for their children, they're not thinking about their health," said Dr. Margarita Zuley, the chief of breast imaging at UPMC.
This is why Ward's office, Bayer, UPMC, the Pennsylvania Breast Coalition and food banks like the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank launched a special partnership to help get women in underserved areas screenings for breast cancer.
On Tuesday, they shuttled people from the food bank in Duquesne to the imaging center in West Mifflin.
"We need to reach into communities and partner with our community partners to lower those barriers," Zuley said.
The numbers show early detection is key, and obstacles in rural communities result in late diagnosis.
According to the National Institutes of Health, 10% of the country's doctors practice in rural areas, and food insecure women had 54% lower odds of reporting breast cancer screenings in the past two years compared to food secure women.
Increasing access can possibly make all the difference.
"I don't think we're done. I think we can do better as a government, and I think we should, and we should focus on those things, because these are families, these are our mothers, our sisters, our cousins," Ward said.
Before Tuesday, through the partnership started earlier this year, they had screened nearly 100 patients for breast cancer.
In the future, they will be offering mobile screenings in vans.
The second free screening event this week will be held Wednesday at the Westmoreland County Food Bank, where shuttles will take people to the imaging center in Monroeville from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. To pre-register click here.
