Judy Taylor, Christus Ross Breast Center Radiology Manager, poses in front of the Christus Ross Breast Center mammography mobile unit. (Raquel Villatoro/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Orange UT Health East Texas units and purple Christus units can be seen driving throughout various Northeast Texas counties. Their purpose: to help more East Texans get screened for breast cancer.

These mobile mammography units serve a critical purpose of helping rural residents get the care they need.

“Because a lot of times, people live far away from where there aren’t breast care services available, and we don’t want transportation to be a barrier for women to receive screening mammograms,” said Regina Davis, UT Health East Texas Director of Breast Cancer Services.

Mammograms are an essential part of early detection for breast cancer. The earlier breast cancer is caught, the higher the survival rate.

“Women that are getting screened regularly, their five-year survival rates are above 95%,” said Elise Bostick, Christus Good Shepherd Breast Center staff technologist.

Studies show one in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, which equates to a diagnosis, on average, every two minutes, according to Christus. Local health systems say there is an overwhelming need for more women to be screened regularly, prompting the frequent use and further expansion of these mobile units.

Local mammography units

UT Health East Texas has a mobile mammography unit which serves seven to 10 counties. It can be seen parked at community events, where staff provides 3D mammograms through their units. If you are interested in scheduling a time for the unit to come to your location, call or visit UT Health East Texas. In order to schedule an appointment, a doctor’s name is required.

Christus Trinity Mother Frances Ross Breast Center and Christus Good Shepherd Breast Center both have their own mobile mammography units.

The Ross Breast Center unit offers mammographs in rural areas. Friday morning, Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System will unveil a new mobile mammography unit funded by the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Foundation Women’s Board. The unit is projected to screen an additional 3,600 people per year, including many who are underserved or underinsured, bringing services to the neighborhoods where they live.

“We’re reaching people who normally wouldn’t come in for their screening mammograms,” said Judy Taylor, Christus Ross Breast Center Radiology Manager. “It’s convenient for them.”

The Good Shepherd Breast Center will receive a new mammogram unit in 2025. The unit will have 3D mammography and a genius Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection which helps the machine read dense tissue breasts. To schedule, call 903-315-2130 and specify the desire for a mobile exam.

Helping the uninsured

Through a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) grant, UT Tyler Health Science Center is able to provide free mammograms for women who are uninsured, ages 40-75 and have not had a mammogram in a year.

Through going out in the communities, UT Health has found that many women are not able to get mammograms because of the cost.

“So what they’re doing is they’re making a decision, do I pay the light bill?” said Tracey Turner, UT Tyler Health Science Center Health Coordinator. “Do I feed my family, or do I go and get this mammogram done? So, of course, they’re opting to take care of their families rather than having these mammograms. So this allows them the opportunity to do self-care, because we know that early detection is the key to survival.”

In some counties, women lack primary care providers. UT Tyler Health Science Center helps take care of them through helping them find a pcp.

“So if they needed mental health, other health services, like their pap smears, anything that they could possibly need for themselves. They have that as well,” said Angelique Ramos, UT Tyler Health Science Center Health Education Coordinator. “We focus on, as a team, taking care of the whole person.”

When Turner started working on the grant, she received a call from a woman who had lost her daughter. After her death, she became the caregiver of her three grandkids. She called Turner to schedule a mammogram because she wanted to be healthy and live a long life to be there for her grandchildren.

After setting up a mammogram, Turner heard back about her results that fortunately were negative for cancer.

“We don’t always hear about it, but just from the stories that people do share, they’re very appreciative for us being able to help them,” Turner said.

UT Health serves seven counties through the grant: Anderson, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Rusk, Van Zandt and Smith.

Outreach efforts

In order to reach people, the mobile mammography units will go to businesses and events. It is also important to educate people about mammograms.

“Another bit of misinformation is that women believe that if they’ve had one good mammogram, they’re good, but that’s not true,” said Amy Dorsey, Christus Good Shepherd Breast Center Mammography Supervisor. “Things grow and change.”

As part of the CPRIT grant, the team goes out in the community to inform and connect people with resources. They work with churches, attend festivals and other local events.

“We also target men because they have wives, daughters, sisters, anyone that is close to them that could be female,” Ramos said. “We go table at the food banks around. We go out [to] anything that the county is having. We try to show up and show out and just try to be there and get out there and tell them what we’re doing.”