Brain Tumor Foundation offering free scans
In the parking lot at 20 Lake Ave., dozens and dozens of people will be scanned for brain tumors at no charge through Thursday.
The Brain Tumor Foundation launched the Road to Early Detection campaign to increase public awareness about early screening for brain tumors and the urgent need for preventative brain scans. This was the first time the free mobile MRI station made its way to Saratoga Springs, visiting New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Las Vegas previously.
Ethan Schnur, managing director for the Brain Tumor Foundation, said Saratoga Springs’s central location made sense, especially with nearby Warren County having the highest cancer rate in the state.
Appointments for this week’s scan have been booked, but there’s a wait-list and an opportunity for walk-in appointments. That’s what Pete Salmon, of Saratoga Springs, did Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s fabulous,” said Salmon. “You know how many people are going to be saved by this?”
Between 20 and 40 scans are done on a daily basis. Amy Russell, a radiologist supervisor with Alliance, handles the patient flow through the trailer.
There are only so many scans that can be done in a given day and there are only so many funds.
Schnur said it costs $50,000 for seven-day campaign.
Salmon said he hopes the campaign gets bigger so more people can be helped.
Part of the campaign deals with increasing awareness and the importance of preventative brain scans, but there’s a research aspect to it.
Gabe Raab, a recent graduate of Columbia University, works as a research assistant for the Saratoga Springs trip.
“We have 2,000 to 3,000 scans in order to study all
“It’s fabulous. You know how many people are going to be saved by this?” – Ethan Schnur, managing director for the Brain Tumor Foundation
of this data,” explained Schnur. “And hopefully to come up with some better understanding as to what might be causing people to have brain tumors.”
Raab works with Columbia University Medical Center under the direction of Dr. Alfred Neugut, an Epidemiology professor.
Neugut, who first met with the Brain Tumor Foundation over a decade ago, didn’t always buy into early screening, according to Schnur.
“We wanted someone who was skeptical of the early detection idea because we wanted someone who was going to take a real objective approach to this, to take a good study, to see what the advantages could be to pre-screening and then get all of this information and see if we can understand better where these brain tumors might be coming from,” said Schnur.
For sponsorship opportunities, call 212-265-2401. For more information, visit http://www.braintumorfoundation.org/