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Cancer Screenings, Healthy Food Options Coincide this Summer

By Siteman Communications |

Siteman Cancer Center and the St. Louis Metro Market are teaming up this summer to offer a two-pronged approach to promoting health and wellness.

At select locations through August, Siteman’s mammography van and the St. Louis Metro Market produce bus will be available to provide screening mammography appointments and healthy food options, respectively.

In response to the pandemic, many women have delayed their annual mammograms. While COVID-19 concerns are understandable, at a certain point delaying preventive care becomes the greater risk. Annual breast exams remain an important part of health care for women ages 40 and up. At the same time, research shows that a healthy diet can dramatically decrease one’s risk of developing cancer.

In response, Siteman and the St. Louis Metro Market are working together to promote health and wellness.

“Nonprofit collaborations allow us to take better care of the whole person,” said Quinton Ward, executive director of the St. Louis Metro Market, a grocery store on wheels that is dedicated to restoring access to healthy, affordable food in area neighborhoods considered to be food deserts.

“Through this combined public health effort, we’re better positioned to serve the community with additional resources that ultimately help our population thrive,” he said.

Locations, dates and times are:

  • Moline Acres
    • June 30, July 7, July 28 and Aug. 25 – St. Louis County Library–Lewis & Clark Branch, 9909 Lewis and Clark Blvd., St. Louis, 63136 (map). Mammography appointments are available from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The St. Louis Metro Market bus is available from 2-4 p.m.
  • St. Louis city
    • July 8 – Affinia Healthcare, 1717 Biddle St., St. Louis, MO 63106 (map). Mammography appointments are available from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The St. Louis Metro Market bus is available from 2-4 p.m.
    • Aug. 6 and Aug. 20 – O’Fallon Park Rec Complex YMCA, 4343 W. Florissant Ave., St. Louis, MO 63107 (map). Mammography appointments are available from 8:15 a.m.-1 p.m. The St. Louis Metro Market bus is available from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
  • Ferguson
    • July 23 – Ferguson Community Empowerment Center, 9420 W. Florissant Ave., St. Louis, MO 63136 (map). Mammography appointments are available from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The St. Louis Metro Market bus is available from 2-4 p.m.

To make an appointment with the Siteman mammography van, call 314-747-7222 or 800-600-3606 toll-free. Each patient is asked to bring her insurance card to the appointment. For those without insurance, assistance is available. Call 314-454-8466 for more information.

For information about other mammography van dates and locations, visit https://siteman.wustl.edu/prevention/mammography/mammography-van.

Mammography, an X-ray examination of the breasts, is the best test for identifying breast cancer before it can be felt – when the cancer is more likely to be curable. Each exam takes about 30 minutes, and the exam fee will be billed to the patient, her insurance company or Medicare. A radiologist from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reads all mammograms, and the results are reported to the patient and her physician. Siteman takes COVID-19 very seriously and strictly follows federal guidelines and continuously cleans facilities and equipment.

The Siteman Cancer Center mammography van is certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is sponsored in partnership with the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, whose board-certified radiologists review the digital mammography images.