Kimberly Aldunate / Staff Writer
Many breast cancer screenings in Miami-Dade County were postponed due to COVID-19. FIU healthcare workers are raising awareness of the issue.
In 2014, FIU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine established a mammography center for Miami-Dade residents called the Linda Fenner 3D Mobile Mammography Center (LFMMC). It offers free mammogram screenings to detect early-stages of breast cancer for uninsured patients.
“[Screenings are] anywhere between 50 to 60 percent lower than we were last year because of the fact that we’re not doing community events,” said Lorraine Nowakowski, clinical director of operations for the college’s mobile health centers. “People are afraid to come out due to COVID-19.”
The mobile center was closed for five months due to the pandemic. However, it reopened in October 2020 and implemented health precautions, accepting only one patient at a time.
The center’s mission is to help prevent breast cancer from South Florida communities.
“I have to say a lot of our patients feel safe in our facility because we’re non-traditional versus going into a traditional setting that’s in a hospital,” said Maria Martinez, a breast health navigator at the center.
She believes a lot of women prefer to be attended at a mobile center rather than risking exposure of COVID-19 in a hospital. “You know they are fearful of that so we’re separated and a lot of women like that they prefer a mobile center,” she said.
LFMMC is the first and only mobile mammography center in South Florida that is free. One must be a Miami-Dade County resident, at least 40 years old, uninsured and showing no symptoms of breast cancer.
The facility was named after Norman Braman’s sister-in-law, Linda Fenner, 54, who died of breast cancer in 2005. Braman, who is the founder and CEO of the Braman Family Charitable Foundation. The center has been able to remain active during the pandemic through monetary donations by the Braman and Batchelor foundation, along with the financial support of the Herbert Wertheim FIU College of Medicine.
Nowakowski explained that the numbers of screenings have dramatically decreased in 2020 due to COVID-19. She emphasized the importance of regular health screenings as they are essential to detecting early stages of breast cancer.
“Just because somebody doesn’t feel anything doesn’t mean you cannot have cancer, which is why it’s so important to get your mammogram,” said Nowakowski.
Dr. Julia Bisschops is a family medicine physician, assistant professor of FIU’s College of Medicine and lead physician for the college’s Linda Fenner 3D Mobile Mammography Center.
Bisschops noted the importance of testing for underrepresented communities in Miami.
“Some [breast cancer] are slow-growing, but in some of the African American populations and younger patients, some are quite aggressive,” said Bisschops. According to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, African American women have a 31% breast cancer mortality rate – the highest of any U.S. racial or ethnic group. “It can be difficult to say, sometimes it can be months [to develop], sometimes it can be six to 12 months.”
A student organization called the Mammography Art Initiative (MAI) at FIU was established in 2011 to address these disparities by improving access to affordable breast health services and education in Miami-Dade County.
Mammography Art Initiative student volunteers prepare for 9th Annual Art Show & Auction.
They recently hosted their 9th Annual Art Show & Auction on Feb. 11. All proceeds supported LFMMC’s mission to provide free mammograms to the community.
Guests view art on display at Mammography Art Initiative 9th Annual Art Show & Auction.
LFMMC is always looking for new partners to promote the program.
“If there’s anyone in the community that feels strongly about a certain community that’s really in need of breast cancer screening, they can just email or call the center,” said Bisschops.
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