Monroe (La.) – Through its innovative Prevention on the Go program, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center will host free breast and colorectal cancer screenings on April 13-14 in Oak Grove and Monroe. These events are supported by local partners in an effort to provide Northeast Louisiana residents with greater access to cancer screenings. Detecting cancer early through routine screenings can help lead to better health outcomes, making it extremely important for the community to get screened for appropriate cancers.
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center invites residents to participate in the following events:
- April 13, 2022 | 10:00am – 2:00pm
Mac’s Fresh Market, 803 E. Main St. in Oak Grove
- April 14, 2022 | 9:00am – 2:00p.m.
Public Safety Center, 1810 Martin Luther King Junior Drive in Monroe
Free clinical breast exams will be performed by a physician or nurse practitioner for women 18 and older. Screening mammograms will be available for women 40 and older who do not have a doctor and have not had a mammogram in the past 12 months. Insurance will be billed for mammograms and there will be no charge for women without insurance.
Easy-to-use take home colorectal cancer screening kits will be distributed at both events. Men and women age 45 and older who have not been screened for colorectal cancer in the past 12 months are eligible to receive take-home kits, but it’s important to note that these kits do not replace a medical examination or other screening procedures.
“We are so excited to host these events for residents in Oak Grove and Monroe,” said Myra Gatling-Akers, regional manager, early detection and education, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “Since 2020, Mary Bird Perkins’ Prevention on the Go program has provided over 60 screening events for communities across the 12-parish Delta region. Our organization is committed to breaking down barriers to care and ensuring residents have access to cancer screening services in a convenient and comfortable setting. We know that by promoting early detection and providing life-saving education, together we will triumph over cancer.”
Screening participants will receive free produce boxes while supplies last.
Appointments are required for all screenings. If an abnormality is found, a nurse navigator will assist screening participants with next steps. To make an appointment, please call (318) 414-9758.
For more information on these events or to access the Cancer Center’s full screenings schedule, please visit marybird.org/get-screened.
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 eight centers in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma, Gonzales, and Natchez, Mississippi, and its service area encompasses southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi regions. Mary Bird Perkins has a strategic partnership 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.