BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Links for Life and Kern Medical brought a mobile 3D mammography unit to the community Saturday, offering free breast cancer screenings to women who lack health insurance or face high out-of-pocket costs.<\/p>\n
Maria Qui\u00f1ones said it was her daughter who helped her access the free screening.<\/p>\n
“Through my daughter, she was the one who found out and told me about it. She was also the one who helped me do my appointment.”<\/p>\n
Qui\u00f1ones said the last time she had a screening was almost 2 years ago.<\/p>\n
“It’s been a while since I got one and it’s because I don’t have the resources to go get one and also because I don’t have health insurance.”<\/p>\n
Links for Life launched the mobile unit in 2024 in partnership with Kern Medical. Liz Huerta with Links for Life said the program has already made an impact.<\/p>\n
“So we’ve scheduled and screened about 370 ladies and diagnosed three with a mobile unit.”<\/p>\n
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the U.S. besides skin cancers. There are more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Huerta said free screenings consistently draw large turnouts.<\/p>\n
“Most of the ladies that scheduled their appointment are the ones that don’t have health insurance or they have a super high co pay, so this is a good way to avoid that cost.”<\/p>\n
“We have 27 ladies on the schedule, so for a six hour window, that’s very good. But, you know, we do take walk in, so we try to accommodate as many as we can.”<\/p>\n
Nancy Becerra was among the 27 women who signed up for a free screening Saturday.<\/p>\n
“I just turned 40-years-old, I’ve never gotten a mammogram and that’s the reason why I came to get my first mammogram.”<\/p>\n
Becerra learned about the event through social media and said she values the availability of free health resources.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s important that they promote this type of programs for people who don’t have access to simple health services.”<\/p>\n
The nonprofit funds the free screenings through grants. Each appointment takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes, Huerta said.<\/p>\n
“So far, we’ve done it two years in a row. We try to change our locations, but for the bigger cities or maybe even the smaller cities that don’t have the offices available to get the screening, we’re trying to go out there and do a yearly screening for them.”<\/p>\n
The next free screening event is scheduled for Aug. 12 in Shafter.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n
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