Paint Clinic Pink

CELEBRATE BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH WITH A FREE CHECKUP

Thursday, October 13th is the Paint the Clinic Pink for the Well Woman Project event at the Shoals Community Clinic. The clinic will offer free medical exams, mammograms, and cancer screenings for qualifying patients by appointment. You can make an appointment for another clinic, if you are not available on the 13th. These services are free for low-income women ages 40-64 without health insurance, or women 65 and over who do not have Medicare Part-A.

October is designated Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Shoals Community Clinic's Well Woman project is helping the women of our area know their health status. The Well Woman Project provides cancer screening to low-income, uninsured women of the Shoals throughout the year with medical exams, mammograms and education programs that promote healthy lifestyle choices. Collaborating with the Alabama Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (ABCCEDP), Lauderdale County Radiology, and the Tri-State Center for Breast Health, the clinic provides free clinical exams, pap smears, and mammograms for qualifying women. In this program, there is always someone helping the patient navigate through the process of screening, detection, treatment, and recovery in a safe and encouraging atmosphere. The pandemic has caused many women to fall behind on their regular health screenings, and it is important to stay on schedule with breast cancer detection. A mammogram can detect a suspect spot much sooner than an at-home breast exam. The earlier breast cancer is detected, the better the chances of a positive outcome.

Breast Cancer is the second most fatal of cancers in women after skin cancer. According to the CDC, each year about 255,000 women and men in the US are diagnosed with breast cancer, and approximately 42,000 die from the disease. Early detection and treatment is the best defense. Since 2007, the Shoals Community Clinic has collaborated with the ABCCEDP that provides free cancer screening and treatment for patients. The ABCCEDP has provided breast exams to over 200,000 women and has helped over 2,500 women diagnosed with breast cancer in the state.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call the clinic at 256-760-4713.