Local women take advantage of free mammograms offered by Texas A&M program

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 40,000 women die every year from breast cancer.

It's one reason the city of Rosebud hosted free mobile mammogram testing on Wednesday, conducted by the Texas A&M C-step program.

“We have great community partners that we’ve connected with here in the community, that said there was a need to come out here, so that’s why we’re here today,” said Texas C-Step Program Coordinator, Marivel Sanchez.

It's a program that began in 2011, and allows women over 40 without insurance to receive free cervical, breast and liver cancer screening.

“A lot of individuals are uninsured and there’s also a transportation barrier, so we’re able to partner with Rosebud to be able to bring a free mobile mammogram out here,” Sanchez said.

The women say that this program offers services that Central Texans with low-income in the community are in need of.

“There are a lot of people in the community without insurance, and there’s a lot of people that don’t want to do it because they’re afraid," said Community Health employee, Irene Bessette.

"Now that we’ve been doing this for awhile, they’re more comfortable."

Irene is a cancer survivor herself — she says screenings like these are what keep women alive, and ensure that they are able to detect cancer as early as possible.

“It’s good to be able to see people that were able to get this mammogram," Bessette said.

"Some of them find out they have cancer, but we keep them positive by finding it in the early stages and telling them everything will be okay as long as they continue their treatments."

They tell 25 News it feels good to be able to give back to local neighbors.

"I think it makes a big difference," Sanchez said.

"We’ve had a lot of success stories throughout the years from individuals who have been able to catch their cancer early, and it's been treatable and they are still here with their families."

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