HARRIS, Mich. (WZMQ) – This week, the Corewell Health Mobile Mammography Unit is helping women in rural parts of the U.P. take charge of their health.
Following a two-day stop at the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Health System, professionals screened women at The Island Resort & Casino in Harris on Wednesday. In partnership with the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the Hannahville Indian Community, the mobile unit provides early breast cancer detection services for women ages 40 to 75. The 3D screenings are free to women of all races.
“Sometimes there’s a little bit of a transportation issue or some of these women might live 20 miles from the closest hospital,” said Hannahville Indian Community Health Educator Kelly Hansen. “This is a nice way to bring screening right to their community.”
This is the seventh year the Mobile Mammography Unit has come to the area. Hansen says the number of women who come to get screenings has increased each year.
“We usually get around 60 to 70 women screened in the Delta and Menominee County area,” she said. “It’s the most common cancer in women, and earlier detection is the best prevention. If you’re getting your annual mammogram done every year, hopefully, if you do have an issue and there is something caught, it’s caught early and your prognosis is much better.”
On Thursday, September 18, women can visit the Mobile Mammography Unit outside the Hannahville Health Center, located at N15750 Hannahville B-1 Road, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Every woman who gets screened between now and the end of October will be entered to win the breast cancer awareness quilt pictured below.
To make an appointment with the Mobile Mammography Unit on September 18, call (906) 723-2570. To learn more about the unit and Corewell Health, visit corewellhealth.org.
