October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Whittier Street Health Center is working to help our community beat this disease by finding it earlier and connecting our patients to state of the art cancer care. We invite you to join the fight!

Breast cancer is the second most common kind of cancer in women. About 1 in 8 women born today in the United States will get breast cancer at some point. The good news is that many women can survive breast cancer if it is found and treated early.

• If you are a woman age 40 to 49, we encourage that you talk to your doctor about when to start getting mammograms and how often to get them.
• If you are a woman age 50 to 74, be sure to get a mammogram every 2 years. You may also choose to get them more often.

Talk to your doctor about your risk for breast cancer, especially if a close family member of yours had breast and/or ovarian cancer. Your doctor can help you decide when and how often to get mammograms.

Whittier Street Health Center’s mission is to provide high-quality, reliable, and accessible primary health care and support services to diverse populations, promote wellness, and eliminate health and social disparities. As one of many steps toward fulfillment of this mission, Whittier has partnered with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to help provide greater access to cancer screening and treatment to the underserved communities of Boston.

We have a convenient onsite Mammography Suite at Whittier’s main campus in Roxbury and  twice weekly Mammography Van service at our brand new Quincy Commons location in North Dorchester. We encourage you to take advantage of all the services Whittier has to offer and to spread the word to your neighbors and friends. Help us build healthier communities!

For more information, please visit us at www.wshc.org, under Clinical Services, and click on Dana-Farber Cancer Care Center. You also welcome to call us at 617-427-1000, or simply walk in and ask to speak to a Clinical Case Manager.