Breast cancer screenings on October 18

New York City Council Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie has announced that in observation of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, he will join the American Italian Cancer Foundation (AICF) in hosting breast cancer screening exams for women in his southeast Queens community on Saturday, October 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Mobile Mammography Van will be available in front of Comrie’s office, located at 113-43 Farmers Boulevard, between Murdock Avenue and 113th Street.
Those residents who are interested in having a screening should make an appointment in advance by calling 1-800-453-8378 ext. 6. There will be free or low-cost mammograms available to women ages 40 and older who have not had a mammogram in the past year. Uninsured women will be covered by the New York State Cancer Services Program. Insured women will not be charged a co-payment and will not receive any bills.
Professional medical services will be provided by Multi-Diagnostic Services and will include a clinical breast exam by trained professionals; a mammogram performed by a certified X-ray technologist; and, a radiological evaluation performed by board-certified radiologists. Your results will be sent to you and/or your doctor within 10 business days.
Those women who attend the screening are urged to wear a two-piece outfit; do not use any oil, powder, deodorant or perfume; and, to bring any Medicare, Medicaid or other health insurance cards you may have.
“I want to applaud the American Italian Cancer Foundation for co-hosting this much-needed screening,” stated Comrie. “It is so important that we actively encourage our wives, mothers, daughters, sisters and sister-friends to be vigilant in getting screenings. The women in our lives too often spend most of their time caring for the needs of their family and ignore their own health. I look forward to working with the foundation to spread the message and encourage women in our community to get mammograms.”
The objective of the American-Italian Cancer Foundation’s Free Mobile Mammography Program is to break down the barriers to breast cancer screening that result in many underserved women losing their lives to breast cancer due to advanced disease at diagnosis. Early detection of breast cancer saves lives. AICF’s program encourages annual mammograms and removes economic and cultural barriers to cancer screening by providing bi-lingual health education and mobile mammography screening free-of-charge. AICF mammography vans go right to where underserved, uninsured women live, work or worship. Using this method, AICF has screened over 55,317 women for breast cancer. For more information about the foundation, log on at www.aicfonline.org.
October is recognized nationally as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society estimates more than 19,000 black women would be diagnosed with breast cancer this year — the second-most common cancer among black women, surpassed only by lung cancer. And while the incidence of breast cancer is about 12 percent lower in black women than in white women, with black women, it often strikes at an earlier age, and the mortality rate is higher. Many women schedule their annual mammograms during this month to make it easier to remember. Others make mammogram appointments on or near their birthdays.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends that women ages 40 and older get a mammogram every one to two years. Women with a family history of breast cancer should seek expert medical advice about whether to begin screening before 40 years of age and how often to get screened. Screening mammography is an important way to identify potential cancers at an earlier stage and has been shown to reduce deaths from breast cancer.
For more information about the breast cancer screenings, call Comrie’s office at 718-776-3700.