KENNEWICK -- The Tri-Cities Cancer Center has avoided a national trend of cutting free cancer screenings for the poor because of the generosity of local donors.
Cindy Miller, community educator for the cancer center, said free breast, cervical, colorectal, prostate and skin cancer screenings will continue to be offered through the year in the Tri-Cities to anyone who wants one.
"We plan on having a record number of screenings in 2010," she said.
Screening events will be offered as far away as Othello and Hermiston, not just in the Tri-Cities.
But Miller said if anyone is concerned that a suspicious lump might be cancer or is having symptoms, free screenings can be done at the cancer center anytime with a referral from a doctor.
She urged those people not to wait for a screening event, which might take months to roll around on the calendar.
"If you have a strong family history, you should do it sooner," Miller said. "If you have symptoms you're suspicious of, you need to do it sooner. We can help people all year long with diagnostic testing."
She said many women with no health insurance avoid getting screened because they worry about the expense of treatment.
"They say, 'I don't want to know,' " Miller said.
But the cancer center also can direct patients toward help paying for treatment.
"We will do everything we can to make sure they get treatment," she said.
Lynn Tompkins is thankful she's never needed treatment. As someone with a family history of cancer, she's also thankful she's been able to get free screenings.
Tompkins, 57, of Pendleton, runs Blue Mountain Wildlife Rehab Center with her husband. The pair pay more than $700 per month for major medical insurance with a $2,500 deductible, meaning she ends up paying out-of-pocket for most of her medical care.
She said she doesn't know of anyone in Pendleton offering mammograms for free.
"This is a really valuable service I appreciate a lot," Tompkins said.
For more information about screenings, call Connie Warner, screenings coordinator, at 737-3420 or go to www.tccancer.org.
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