Mom to Mom: One-of-a kind van brings mammograms to South Florida women

BOCA RATON, Fla. — On this week’s Mom to Mom, Local 10’s Nicole Perez talked to organizers astatine Baptist Health who person created a mode for women to get a mammogram, without stepping ft into a doctor’s office.

Shakira Kolber, the Director of the Women’s Institute astatine Boca Raton Regional Hospital, says the MammoVan does much than surface for bosom cancer. It provides women with acquisition and important updates.

“There are nary limitations to wherever we tin go. For me, this van spells convenience,” said Kolber.

The MammoVan goes to physician’s offices, wellness fairs, autobus depots and it has adjacent been parked successful parking tons with technicians and doctors offering escaped screenings to women.

If wealth oregon security is an issue, South Florida women are capable to person a mammogram astatine nary outgo to them.

“There’s nary complaint to bring the van to your work, your site, your wellness event, immoderate it is, your church, synagogue, nary outgo whatsoever. You travel successful operator is here, cheque in, spell to the backmost for your screening. What makes this portion peculiar is it was built for comfort,” said Kolber.

The van is equipped with the latest technology, the GE Prostina 3D Mammography Unit.

Kolber says the portion takes images astatine respective angles and takes little than 4 minutes. From registration to finish, the full process whitethorn instrumentality a diligent astir 20 minutes.

Dr. Kathy Schilling, Medical Director of the Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health and Wellness Institute astatine Boca Raton Hospital took the clip to speech to Nicole astir the value of getting a mammogram and what it looks similar erstwhile she detects it.

“Today, I’m 1 of 3 radiologists staffing the halfway present and I’m doing biopsies. It’s truly each astir aboriginal detection. The smaller we find the cancer, the amended we person of curing that pistillate and the much attraction options that we person which are little aggressive,” said Schilling.

Schilling says they MammoVan is capable to get into communities, expanding entree to bosom screenings and trying to trim immoderate of the barriers women look erstwhile simply trying to docket an appointment.

“We cognize that there’s populations retired determination that won’t travel present won’t entree the attraction and possibly due to the fact that of fearfulness oregon intimidation. Maybe due to the fact that they don’t person proscription oregon childcare issues but if we tin place those at-risk communities that are not coming here, we tin spell to them,” said Schilling.

The MammoVan screens astir 300 women a month. With the assistance of AI, Schilling says they person been capable to summation the fig of patients they spot and are uncovering importantly smaller cancers.

“The AI tin assistance assistance america it knows what cancers look similar truthful it tin emblem them and refocus your attraction to accidental you cognize possibly you privation to look astatine this country again. We person recovered adjacent with each dedicated bosom radiologists that our crab detection complaint accrued by 23% utilizing artificial quality and that’s without adding immoderate further recalls,” said Schilling.

Schilling recommends patients astatine mean hazard commencement screening each twelvemonth opening astatine property 40.

“In the past mates of years, we’ve been seeing a batch of patients younger than property 40 coming successful with bosom cancers which they recovered themselves oregon the doc found. So, we urge that each pistillate travel successful earlier the property of 25 for a hazard assessment,” said Schilling.

The lone van of its benignant successful South Florida, the extremity of the MammoVan is to scope arsenic galore communities arsenic possible, surface arsenic galore women arsenic imaginable and supply accelerated results to observe crab early.

The MammoVans presently work women surviving successful Palm Beach and Broward Counties. A brand-new MammoVan volition besides soon supply services to women successful Miami-Dade County.

For much accusation astir the MammoVan program, click connected this link.

To marque an appointment, click connected this link.

To item a ma who makes a quality successful our community, nonstop america an email astatine MomToMom@wplg.com.

For much Mom to Mom stories, click connected this link.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.