By Jeniffer Viscarra
The City of Sunny Isles and Mount Sinai Aventura are making it easy for women 40 and above to get their mammograms on OCTOBER 8. I encourage all women who qualify to take advantage of the free transportation. Please see the city’s flyer by clicking here:
http://www.sibfl.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/10.8.13-Mammography-Day.pdf.
Having recently turned 40, I am now “in range” for these exams. But, I went to great lengths to start getting my exams much earlier. When I was twenty-two, I thought I knew it all. However, when my mother died of breast cancer when she was only 53 years old, it was a somber affirmation of how much there was still to learn, especially with regards to preventive care. In my late twenties, once I was out of grad school and had my first
“real job” and health insurance, I requested a referral for a mammogram. Surprisingly, I was repeatedly shot down. Despite my family history, it took me almost two years to get that first appointment. It finally happened when I was 29, and I have been getting my regular exams ever since. Every year, about two weeks after the appointment, I
get the results in the mail. And every year I take a very deep breath and hope there is no bad news inside. And thankfully, there never has been.
Unfortunately, there are women who do not take preventive steps out of fear of getting bad results. Please keep that in mind if there is a 40+ woman in your life who does not get regular mammograms and would qualify for these exams. Talk to her about the
attached flyer. Call the number and make the reservation with her. Maybe that’s the little push she needs. And maybe you will have to make more than one phone call. That’s fine. That woman is worth it.