Free mammograms and screenings offered at Gibson health fair April 26
On Tuesday, April 26, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., 22 Glascock County women have scheduled to get their annual mammogram on University Hospital Breast Health Center’s mobile unit, which will be parked at the Health Department in Gibson.
“There are many different barriers that make it hard for women in rural areas to get the health care services they need,” said LisaAnn Wheeler, the Patient Navigator for the Georgia Department of Health’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP).
Women in rural areas face food insecurity issues, lack of access to affordable clothing, rent assistance or child care. Others have to choose between paying their utility bills or paying for treatment. The number one barrier Wheeler sees is transportation.
She has partnered with numerous providers and services to host a health fair while the mobile unit is in town.
Partners will offer blood pressure screenings, COVID screenings and vaccinations, HIV testing as well as information on a variety of services.
Wheeler’s own program offers breast and cervical cancer screenings for women who are uninsured, underinsured or have low income.
“What we provide is an annual exam covering gynecological care, Pap/HPV testing, clinical breast exams and referrals for mammograms if age appropriate,” Wheeler said. “What I am finding is that women, due to barriers and COVID is one of them, have not been getting their mammograms.”
Sometimes it is because of the barriers already mentioned and sometimes it's simply that they cannot afford it. And while there are a lot of programs that offer a free mammogram, most (and many high-deductible insurance plans) do not cover follow up visits.
Wheeler's program, which covers 13 counties throughout the CSRA including Glascock and Jefferson, is different.
“Often times insurance covers the screening mammogram but say they find something, and it might not be cancer, but they need you to come back and do a diagnostic mammogram,” she said. “Often high deductible insurance doesn’t cover that. It doesn’t cover the ultrasound. It doesn’t cover the biopsy and it doesn’t cover the surgical consult. Women are left in a ridiculous situation.”
The Breast and Cervical Cancer Program covers all of that for women who qualify.
“And if a woman is found to have cancer under the program, then we will assist them with applying for women’s health Medicaid, which will cover their breast cancer treatment. That’s huge,” Wheeler said. “What I have learned is that there is such need right now, it’s overwhelming and COVID hasn’t made it any easier. I do my best to assist with the resources I have to overcome all those barriers.”
The program also offers screenings for HPV and helps cover the cost of a colposcopy if they are found to be positive for the virus and are at risk of developing uterine cancer.
Wheeler is also the lead advocate with the National Breast Cancer Coalition for the state of South Carolina in the Aiken area. She volunteers to work with legislators on projects like the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act.
“The waiting periods for women diagnosed with this disease to get disability and SSI are crazy,” she said. “Unfortunately, we have women who are dying before they can receive the care they deserve.”
Wheeler lost her mother, Lorraine Davis Jackman, to metastatic breast cancer in 2017. Her passion for the work is very personal.
“She was a remarkable woman. She lived with metastatic disease for many, many years. Surgery, treatment, surgery and so forth,” Wheeler said. “She always had this passion for life and this love of people. What I do every day, I do for her.”
To learn more about the BCCP program, ask about future visits from the mobile mammogram unit or learn more about the programs she spearheads to increase knowledge and decrease women's chances of getting diagnosed with breast cancer, visit the health fair April 26 or contact Wheeler at lisa.wheeler@dph.ga.gov or call (706) 667-4255.