By Donovan Darling, The Mountain Times
When Tami Beaty found out she had breast cancer, it was totally by accident. Now, after everything she’s been through, she’s on a mission to make sure other women in the Mount Hood area have easy access to cancer screenings. She’s helping coordinate an OHSU mobile mammography clinic in Sandy this November.
“Women often think that if what they’re feeling is small that it’s probably nothing,” says Beaty, who’s the volunteer event coordinator for Sandy Seventh-day Adventist Church. “I think it’s really important for women to understand that catching stuff early makes a world of difference. Don’t skip your mammogram.”
OHSU’s Mobile Mammography Program is offering screenings at Sandy Seventh-day Adventist Church, located at 18575 Southeast Langensand Road, on Thursday, November 14, by appointment only.
This is now the 3rd year the mobile program is coming to Sandy, and it’s all about making it easier for women to get screened closer to home. It’s designed to be a quick, effective option for regular screenings, especially for women who may not want to deal with the hassle of a long drive.
The van is the only mobile mammography service in Oregon offering 3-D mammography (Digital Breast Tomosynthesis) for the Mount Hood community. They’ve also recently updated the van, adding private dressing rooms and focusing on privacy. A female technologist does all the screenings, and OHSU radiologists take care of reviewing the images. Results go straight to the patient’s primary care doctor.
“(The program) is very discrete, very private and very safe. It’s as safe as going to the hospital,” Beaty says. “Sandy is a growing community. We need services like this out here for people who don’t have access and so people don’t have to drive into town.”
To qualify, you need to be at least 35 years old, have gone a full year since your last screening, and have no pregnancy, recent breastfeeding, or known lumps, pain, or discharge.
The program accepts most insurance, including Medicare, Oregon Health Plan, and low-income programs like ScreenWise and Project Access. Kaiser Permanente is not a preferred provider. The Sandy Seventh-day Adventist Church plans to host the clinic three times per year for the community.
Beaty says the mammogram clinic is part of a bigger outreach effort by the church, which will soon host a grief recovery program, plant-based cooking class, depression and anxiety recovery program, a free vision clinic in the months ahead, and many more.
To book an appointment, call Tami Beaty at 503-698-4622. For more details about the event, check out www.sandyadventistchurch.org/events/mammogram-van. You can also find more info about the mobile mammography program at https://tuality.org/hospital-services/breast-health-services/mobile_mammography/.