ANCHOR: One in eight women get breast cancer in their lifetime, and due to COVID-19, many chose not to get mammograms this past year…N-C-C’s Sammy Lindell has the story of how Central New Yorkers can get screened for free.
REPORTER: It’s breast cancer awareness month and Onondaga County is offering free mammograms for women between the ages of forty and seventy-four who do not have health insurance.
KARA VERBANIC: “If you can catch breast cancer early it’s usually easier to treat.”
REPORTER: Kara Verbanic, a Public Health Educator from the County Cancer Services Program says that getting screened this year is more vital than in previous years.
KARA VERBANIC: “During COVID a lot of people delayed their screenings…our numbers went down for screenings.”
REPORTER: And those numbers went down from two hundred eighty-five people taking up these services in twenty-nineteen to one hundred eighty people in twenty-twenty.
KARA VERBANIC: “Definitely don’t put it off because of COVID, it’s definitely safe to get your screenings.”
REPORTER: To schedule an appointment for a free mammogram, call 3-1-5-4-3-5-3-6-5-3…This is Sammy Lindell, N-C-C News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)— The Onondaga County Cancer Services Program is offering free mammograms for women without health insurance between the ages of forty and seventy-four. Kara Verbanic, a County Public Health educator, said that it is important for women to get screened this year even more than in previous years.
Verbanic said that due to COVID-19, the office did not see as many patients take advantage of these free screenings. In fact, in 2019, two-hundred-eighty-five people took advantage of these services, but in 2020, they only saw one-hundred-eighty people. Many were afraid to go into doctors’ offices, but she assures those contemplating going in for a mammogram that the office is taking the correct precautions to keep staff and patients safe from the virus.
The Cancer Services program wants to stress the importance of getting a mammogram done now, since it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, though these free screenings are available year-round.
Verbanic said that one in eight women get breast cancer in their lifetime. “If you can catch breast cancer early, it’s usually easier to treat,” Verbanic said.
