MAITLAND, Fla. — Seven years -- that's how long Maria Morrison went without a mammogram.
Morrison doesn’t have insurance and her special needs son has always been her priority.
“I have to think about taking care of him first, making sure he's healthy,” Morrison told Channel 9’s Nancy Alvarez. “I have to make sure our rent is paid.”
It's a scenario Shepherd’s Hope sees over and over again, and that's why the nonprofit partnered with Sandlake Imaging.
For every new patient that mentions their "Get a Mammogram/Give a Mammogram” campaign, a non-insured woman in the community will get the exam for free.
“Women who get their first mammogram when they're 50 may have had a tumor growing for five years—and not know it,” said Sandlake Imaging’s Dr. Robert Posniak.
A mammogram was donated in Nancy’s name Monday. She said her testing only took about 15 minutes.
And the campaign doesn't just cover an initial test. Women who need follow up testing and care will be taken care of every step of the way.
Maria Morrison’s initial mammogram required additional testing but she told Nancy she's not worried: Whatever happens she knows she's not alone.
“It makes you feel good there are places like this, that you're not like, ‘Oh well, you have cancer and you're going to be left to die on your own’,” Morrison said. “You have somebody here that's going to be watching out for you.”
Since January, 60 mammograms have been given out. Twenty-eight of those women required additional testing and 12 had some form of breast cancer that was treated.
Many uninsured women don't have the transportation to get to a facility for a mammogram.
Sandlake Imaging has been using its mobile mammogram unit — essentially a bus with all the equipment they set up at Shepherd’s Hope locations.
For more information, visit Shepard's Hope.
WFTV
