BATON ROUGE, La. – Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is hosting a FREE breast and colorectal cancer screening event on Tuesday, October 11 from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Star Hill Baptist Church (1400 N. Foster Drive) in Baton Rouge. To observe National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Cancer Center has partnered with The Links, Incorporated (Baton Rouge Chapter) and the Louisiana Department of Health to provide these early detection resources to community members, so residents are encouraged to come out and take advantage of these free services.
This event is one in a series of community events offered through Mary Bird Perkins’ innovative Prevention on the Go program, a program designed to provide education and early detection services in locations where people live, work, worship, shop and play. Using the Cancer Center’s mobile medical clinics, the Mary Bird Perkins team travels throughout Louisiana and southwest Mississippi to serve thousands of participants each year. These events are supported by local partners to provide residents with greater access to cancer screenings in a convenient location close to home.
“What better time to highlight the vital importance of routine breast screenings than during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Renea Duffin, vice president, cancer support and outreach, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “After so many cancer screenings were delayed or canceled entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring women have access to routine screenings now takes on an additional significance. We are thankful to our partners for helping us reach as many residents as possible.”
Appointments are required for all screenings. To make an appointment, please call (225) 425-8034. If an abnormality is found, a nurse navigator will assist screening participants with next steps.
For the second consecutive year, the Baton Rouge chapter of The Links, Incorporated, a community service organization comprised of dedicated women, has provided a generous donation that will allow at least 25 women to receive breast screenings through this event.
“For nearly 60 years, the Baton Rouge chapter of The Links has been focused on improving the health and wellness of the community we serve,” said Cheryl Hall-DeRouen, president, Baton Rouge Chapter, The Links, Incorporated. “We are proud to partner with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center to provide these life-saving screenings. We know this event will allow women to detect cancer earlier, which can directly lead to better outcomes.”
Also joining Mary Bird Perkins in this effort is the Louisiana Department of Health. LDH shares the Cancer Center’s understanding of the need for equitable access to screening initiatives across our community.
FREE flu shots and COVID-19 vaccines, including the updated COVID-19 bivalent booster, provided by LDH, will be available on-site for those interested.
Take-home colorectal cancer screening kits will be distributed at colorectal cancer screening appointments. Men and women who have not been screened for colorectal cancer in the past 12 months are eligible. This does not replace a medical examination or other screening procedures. Screenings are free if you have not been screened within the last 12 months. Insurance will be billed for mammograms.
About Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is a regional cancer care organization that has been fighting cancer for more than 50 years. The cancer care organization provides care at nine centers in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma, Gonzales, Slidell, and Natchez, Mississippi, and its service area encompasses southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi regions. Mary Bird Perkins has a strategic affiliation with OneOncology and the largest radiation and medical oncology groups from across the area including exclusive partnerships with Southeastern Louisiana Radiation Oncology Group, which provides radiation therapy throughout Mary Bird Perkins’ service areas, Northshore Oncology Associates, serving St. Tammany and Washington Parishes, specifically the communities of Covington and Slidell and Louisiana Hematology Oncology Associates, which services the Greater Baton Rouge area. For more information, please visit www.marybird.org.