BOCA RATON, Fla. — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Baptist Health South Florida is driving home the fact that early screening and detection can save lives.
The hospital system is rolling out its pink truck this month to help get the word out about early detection and screenings.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Breast Cancer Awareness
According to the American Cancer Society, women ages 40 to 44 should have the choice to start annual breast cancer screening with mammograms, X-rays of the breast, if they wish to do so.
The organization also recommends women ages 45 to 54 get mammograms every year.
"The survival rates are tremendous, particularly with early detection," said Dr. Kathy Schilling, medical director of the Lynn Women's Health And Wellness Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. "We have over 95% survival for five years in patients who have early diagnosed breast cancer, so there's a great amount of hope."
THINK PINK💗Had the chance to get an upclose look at the @BaptistHealthSF pink truck at Boca Raton Regional Hospital! The truck continues to deliver #factsthatsavelives #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth
— Linnie Supall (@LinnieSupall) October 21, 2021
Pink truck to stop by South Florida fairgrounds in WPB on 10/31 11a-8p #wptv #wflx pic.twitter.com/V1k7OPw52y
By the time a woman reaches age 55 or older, the American Cancer Society recommends women switch to mammograms every two years or continue yearly screening.
"We have a lot of tools to diagnose cancers early, and so there's a lot of hope," Schilling said.
However, Baptist Health South Florida is reporting an increase in the number of women delaying the important task of getting a mammogram during the pandemic.
Today our pink truck stopped by our newest hospital and met some of our employees during #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth. It continues delivering #factsthatsavelives - so keep an eye out for its next stop and tag us! #breastcancerxbaptisthealthsf pic.twitter.com/J3yunfvuSK
— Baptist Health S FL (@BaptistHealthSF) October 15, 2021
"You can miss a few weeks, or a couple months, but you can't miss years because then we're going to be finding cancers when they're palpable, when they're clinically evident, and then we're going backwards," Schilling said. "If mammograms are delayed, then we're not moving forward with early detection, so it's important that patients come back in."
Click here for more information about scheduling a mammogram.
