Breast Cancer Screening: Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Commitment to Serve South Florida
More than 60 women in Monroe County received mammograms or breast ultrasounds at a two-day Sylvester screening event.
Late-stage diagnosis of breast cancer is overrepresented among women in Monroe County, Fla., which spans the Florida Keys. This is, in part, because of the limited availability of mammography, said Erin Kobetz, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate director for community outreach and engagement and the John K. and Judy H. Schulte Senior Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
On Dec. 2 and 3, Sylvester helped address this disparity by collaborating with community partners to bring breast cancer screenings to more than 60 women in Marathon, Fla.
The screenings were part of a three-day series of Sylvester Game Changer™ events in Monroe County. They’re part of Sylvester’s broader efforts to bring cancer screening and prevention services directly to people who need them.
The Value of Close-to-Home Cancer Screening
The Sylvester Game Changer vehicle and mobile mammography provider Mammolink provided 67 mammograms and 27 breast ultrasounds for women who do not have easy access to routine mammography, said Dr. Kobetz, vice president for health promotion and chief well-being officer at Sylvester.
Monroe County is a federally designated medically underserved area. It has a shortage of primary care providers and lacks health care infrastructure to meet the community’s cancer prevention needs. It’s also geographically challenging, with people living on barrier islands that often have only one route in and out.
Alicia Diaz Oria, M.P.H., director of Sylvester’s Office of Outreach and Engagement, said people in Monroe County often travel an hour or more for routine services. She said the turnout was remarkable, adding that local partners were impressed by the scale of participation. It clearly demonstrated a strong demand for care that is close to home and available at flexible times.
“When we bring screening and imaging directly to them, it removes one of their biggest barriers,” Diaz Oria said. “You can feel the relief and gratitude.”
The screenings were made even more accessible thanks to support from Sylvester and Zonta International, which subsidized imaging for some women. Others used insurance.
More Cancer Prevention Efforts
The breast cancer screening event was spurred by Sylvester’s Monroe County Community Advisory Board, said Dr. Kobetz, chair of the Florida Cancer Control and Research Advisory Council (CCRAB). This group of community leaders advocates for projects that help address the area’s high rates of late-stage cancer diagnoses and cancer mortality.
“We’re being creative, thinking about resources that exist that we can bring to Monroe to expand cancer prevention and early detection,” Dr. Kobetz said.
The event is just one element of Sylvester’s long-term commitment to working collaboratively with Monroe County partners to implement evidence-based practices, Dr. Kobetz said.
For example, the Office of Outreach and Engagement is working with Natalia Jaimes, M.D., a dermatologist and researcher at Sylvester and associate professor in the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the Miller School, to train advanced-practice providers across The Keys on dermascopy and other techniques for screening and diagnosing skin cancer.
Sylvester is also working with a community-based organization to expand its ability to provide cervical cancer screenings through human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling. Self-sampling is not only an American Cancer Society-endorsed strategy for prevention and early detection, but also a way to reduce strain on the area’s limited health care resources.
“We’re trying to be part of the solution,” Dr. Kobetz said.
Tags: breast cancer, breast cancer risk, cancer research, Dr. Erin Kobetz, Dr. Natalia Jaimes, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center