Mobile Mammogram Day

Saturday, June 17, 2017, the day before my birthdate ... We are at the Rock Road Library in St.Ann, Missouri. Mobile Mammograms started at 9 a.m. and ended at 1 p.m. Each year the number of mobile mammograms increases. This year we had 17 women receive their mammograms. This was a very difficult task to accomplish. Women would agree to call & have their mammograms scheduled & "I forgot" was the word used daily. I promote mammograms for 52 weeks every Monday on social media sites and women are still not getting their mammograms. Black women are the ones that are dying from breast cancer for many reasons; fear, lack of knowledge, no insurance and late detection. Annual mammograms can detect cancer early, when it is most treatable. In fact, mammograms show changes in the breast up to two years before a patient or physician can feel them. A mammogram itself takes about 10 to 15 minutes. You could be in the clinic for up to an hour or maybe longer. Even without insurance you are able to get a mammogram.

Sha Fields, from The Breakfast Club came out to assist with women that didn't have insurance. The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program also provides grants to NFP organizations to conduct outreach, provide education on breast health and breast screening, link medically underserved women to care providers and clinical screening services, and to help navigate patients through any necessary follow up care.

My sister, Diana Anita, who is 35 years old received her first baseline mammogram on this day. There were no abnormalities shown. Thank you God!! Our family has the BRCA2 gene mutation.

We gave each woman pearls for receiving their mammogram, handouts were available and refreshments were served. A special thanks to Panera Cares, Clayton, MO for donating pastries for our winning women, our board members for volunteering their time and efforts, Mercy Breast Health Center and Rock Road Library for believing in and collaborating with us on this much needed effort.

Winning Lives Where We Can In A Unique Way.

Valeda Keys, Founder of Valeda's Hope