June 1, 2021
AKA Sorority Helps Black Women Access Free Breast Cancer Screenings
Amid the pandemic, scheduling medical appointments for issues such as breast cancer screenings may have slipped through the cracks for some women. KCUR reported that the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc’s Mammography Mobile Unit gave women a hand recently by stopping in Kansas City to provide free 3-D mammograms and breast cancer screenings.
Rhonda Harris—who is a member of the service-oriented Black sorority—said that the goal is to have “at least 100,000 women (by 2022) screened for breast cancer, and especially in the African American community because so many times we just ignore what we really need to do until it’s too late,” according to KCUR.
Additionally, Tanesha Thompson, the Midwestern region representative for AKA’s service projects, remarked that the organization is very into women’s health and wellness. According to the AKA’s website, program initiatives include breast cancer awareness and prevention. It is one of the program targets and focuses on early detection through mammograms to improve the survival rate of women diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Alpha Kappa Alpha will own a digital AKA Mobile Breast Cancer Screening Unit that will travel to various locations and provide mammogram screening. Chapters will partner with local clinics, rural health centers, and hospitals to emphasize the need for African-American women to receive regular mammograms,” the website stated.
A 2019 press release provided more details about how the AKA Sorority’s President Glenda Glover was joined by hundreds of sorority members in Houston to unveil a new mobile screening unit. Since that time, women in underserved communities have been served through it. The sorority’s service to provide screenings can also be critical for uninsured women.
The American Cancer Society reminds women that finding breast cancer early and getting state-of-the-art cancer treatment are the most important strategies to prevent deaths from breast cancer. Online details stated that the goal of screening tests for breast cancer is to find it before it causes symptoms, such as a lump that can be felt.
“Breast cancers found during screening exams are more likely to be smaller and still confined to the breast. The size of a breast cancer and how far it has spread are some of the most important factors in predicting the prognosis (outlook) of a woman with this disease,” The American Cancer Society reported.