October may be Breast Cancer Awareness month, but El Camino Health is encouraging and helping women to get mammograms regardless of insurance status year-round.
The free mammogram program provides breast screenings at the El Camino Health Mountain View and Los Gatod campuses to uninsured and under-insured women older than 40 years of age. It’s sponsored by donations to the El Camino Health Foundation and is provided by the Lurie Women’s Imaging Center at El Camino Health.
The program started approximately six years ago, according to El Camino Health’s Dr. Kaye Lu, who specializes in breast surgical oncology.
“It was really created out of the recognition that there is a need for mammogram screenings in the community,” she said in a phone call. “You know, not everyone is able to afford health insurance or able to afford all the costs associated with certain health insurance programs, and so that’s where the vision was born.”
The program offers screening mammograms, which are different than diagnostic mammograms, she said. Screenings are done to check breast tissue for any lumps or abnormal masses, while diagnostic mammograms are done because someone felt a lump or something else concerning.
“In the diagnostic (mammogram), if there’s an area of concern, they’re going to take more pictures under higher magnification and a little bit more pressure to get better views of that area,” Dr. Lu said. “But (with) a screening, they don’t necessarily do additional views.”
The screenings are also limited to women older than 40 because of national guidelines. She said there isn’t utility in providing mammograms to patients younger than 40 (except for those with palpable lumps or other concerning symptoms) because of breast density. Breast density is the density of breast tissue, Dr. Lu said, and it decreases as women age.
Since then, approximately 200 women utilize the services per year; One to two of those women are diagnosed with cancer, Dr. Lu said. If a screening given through the program has suspicious results, El Camino Health will provide additional screenings and resources.
“I think it’s important to note that you know this free program is not just for screening mammograms, because what if we find something abnormal and the patient still doesn’t have health insurance?” She said. “So we actually cover everything that’s through diagnosis.”
That includes targeted breastultrasounds, whole breast ultrasounds and
breast biopsies. While the free program is limited to women older than 40,
Dr. Lu said that El Camino Health can refer men and women younger than 40 and to other clinics that offer free screenings.
“We also offer partnerships with Planned Parenthood, Mayview Health and Cardinal Health, which is a Stanford clinic,” she said. “These are free clinics in the area, and so if a patient goes to see them with a probable lump and they’re less than 40, then they could still get referred to this free screening program.”
Registration for the program is required. Call (650)940-7050 to register.
For more on the program, visit tinyurl.com/ECHmammogramprogram
