UNC Rex Mobile Mammography brings life-saving screenings to Louisburg residents

UNC Rex Healthcare is making it easier for communities to keep up with annual breast screenings by bringing the service to them.

In rural areas, imaging centers can be nearly impossible to find. When it comes to breast cancer, a lack of access and early detection can lead to life-threatening diagnoses.

On Wednesday, the UNC Rex Mobile Mammography Unit offered screening imaging for the Louisburg community, in partnership with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and St. Paul Presbyterian Church.

The sorority has organized this annual event for the last four years. Clinicians at Wednesday’s event said ongoing outreach like this helps them reach patients in harder-to-reach areas while combating myths surrounding mammograms.

“Over my time, it’s just the stigma of ladies not wanting to get a breast examination due to the fears and horror stories that they hear,” said Romona Wells, a coordinator and mammographer with UNC Rex Mobile Mammography. “We want to educate them more to advocate for themselves in order to come out and do their annual examination.”

Mammographers remind people to take even the smallest changes seriously and address them with their primary care doctor. When caught early, breast cancer survival rates are over 90%.

The UNC Rex Mobile Mammography Unit travels Monday through Friday and serves over 20 counties.