Breast friends
Hosp resumes mobile unit in cancer fight
Julie Tudor knows how important it is to get her girls checked — a few of her friends are breast cancer survivors, and her own mother died of leukemia four years ago.
But the 49-year- old Brooklyn massage therapist could never really afford a mammogram — until this week when she got screened for the first time, for free, thanks to doctors at Mount Sinai.
After a COVID-19 hiatus, the Mount Sinai mobile mammography screening unit — or “Mammo Van” — has revved up again this October, just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The van travels to all five boroughs every month, and is free for the uninsured and those eligible under the New York State Cancer Services Program.
“It's something that's always been on my mind. Thanks to the pandemic and being unemployed, I actually wound up qualifying this year,” Tudor said.
The van, funded by a New York state grant, is equipped with all the same 3D X-ray technology used at a regular doctor's office, and offers screenings to anyone above 40 without symptoms who hasn't been checked in the past year.
Tudor stopped by the Upper West Side location Thursday afternoon in honor of her survivor friends.
“The (mammogram) technologist was just so wonderful. It's been a long time since I've been hugged (during the pandemic) and it really did feel like she was giving me a hug,” she joked.
Dr. Laurie Margolies, chief of breast imaging at Mount Sinai, says a mammogram is one of the most life-saving hugs middle-aged women can get, even if they have no history of breast cancer in their family.
“Unfortunately, three out of four women that get breast cancer have no family history,”y Margoliesg explained.p
“The cancers that we've found have, in some cases, been on some people who have never been screened before or who were afraid to get screened. But because the van was very accessible to them, they came, and it made a difference in their lives,” she said.
Valerie Riley, 74, noticed a spot on her skin several years ago that turned out to be benign, but she's kept up with her breast cancer screenings since then.
She was over a year overdue when she saw the
Mammo Van parked outside her Upper West Side home several weeks ago, and decided c to stop by because it was w so close.
“She (the technologist) was great, she was very gentle, which is important. If your breasts are kind of soft, it t can hurt. But she made it comfortable,” c Riley, a bookkeeper, k said.
“It's right across the street from f my apartment. I can get checked c and then go to Trader T Joe's, get my errands done,” she said. “That's really helpful especially if you're living in a less affluent area.”
Though breast cancer is primarily found in women, men are also susceptible and should get checked, doctors advise.
Tudor knows that firsthand, from a male friend who was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.
“He almost lost it. It was a big, big deal. But the fact that they caught it before it metastasized was huge … we all need to get our nuts and berries checked,” she said.