Annual Mobile Mammography Visit Brings Lifesaving Screenings To Scobey
Scobey residents once again had the opportunity to receive lifesaving breast cancer screenings close to home when Intermountain Health’s mobile mammography coach visited Daniels Memorial Healthcare Center July 30-31.
The annual visit provides local residents with access to FDA-approved 3D mammography without the need to travel hundreds of miles to Billings, making preventive healthcare more convenient and accessible for women throughout Daniels County. “Regular mammograms are important for breast cancer screening and early detection,” said Boyce Urdahl, radiology manager at Daniels Memorial Healthcare Center.
For many residents of northeast Montana, accessing specialized medical services often requires extensive travel. A trip to Billings for a routine mammogram can involve driving more than 300 miles each way, taking time away from work, arranging childcare or family care and, in some cases, paying for overnight lodging.
The mobile mammography coach helps eliminate many of those barriers by bringing advanced screening technology directly to rural communities like Scobey. The screenings take about 15 minutes to complete and are covered by most insurance plans.
Based at Intermountain Health’s St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings, the mobile mammography program was established in 2010 to improve access to breast cancer screening across rural and frontier Montana. The coach travels five to seven days each week, making scheduled visits to more than 60 communities within approximately a 300-mile radius of Billings, including its annual stop in Scobey.
The program exists because geography remains one of Montana’s greatest healthcare challenges. Long travel distances, severe winter weather and limited transportation options can delay or prevent women from receiving routine preventive care. By bringing mammography services closer to home, Intermountain Health hopes to increase screening rates and detect breast cancer before symptoms develop, when treatment is typically less invasive and outcomes are most favorable.
Since the program began 15 years ago, the mobile mammography coach has screened more than 17,000 women and helped detect more than 100 cases of breast cancer. Many of those cancers were found at an earlier, more treatable stage, underscoring the importance of routine screening.
For residents of Scobey and the surrounding area, the annual visit means they do not have to choose between their health and the time, expense or inconvenience of traveling long distances for preventive care. Instead, they can receive a potentially lifesaving screening right in their own community.
