Free Cancer Screenings coming to Avoyelles Parish

Mobile unit scheduled for Nov. 17 & 18

The CMAP Cancer Screening Mobile Unit will visit Avoyelles Parish on Nov. 17 and 18 to provide free breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings to eligible Central Louisiana residents.

Appointments are required and must be requested by Nov. 12.

The Cancer Screening Project is administered by the Cenla Medication Access Program and funded by The Rapides Foundation. The mobile unit is operated through a partnership with the Partners in Wellness Program at the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center at LSU Health Shreveport.

During its two-day community clinics, the mobile unit provides digital mammograms, HPV cervical screenings and take-home Fecal Immunochemical Tests for colorectal cancer.

The Rapides Foundation established the Cancer Screening Project in 2009 after a community health assessment found that too many Central Louisiana residents were not receiving recommended screenings for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers.

The project seeks to remove barriers such as cost, lack of insurance and limited access to screening services. The mobile unit travels throughout Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn parishes.

Residents who do not need a screening themselves are encouraged to share the information with family members, friends and neighbors who may qualify.

Who qualifies?

• Central Louisiana residents
• Uninsured or enrolled in Medicaid
• Household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level
• Women 40-64 may qualify for digital mammography
• Women 25-64 may qualify for HPV cervical screening
• Women 45-64 may qualify for breast, cervical and take-home colorectal screening
• Men 45-64 may qualify for the take-home colorectal screening test

About the FIT test

The Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) is a take-home colorectal screening test that can be completed at home and requires no dietary restrictions. If a test is positive, the program helps the patient schedule a colonoscopy.

How to request an appointment

Call Cancer Screening Specialist Stephanie Heinen at 318-767-3027 or toll-free at 855-767-3027 by Nov. 12.

Appointments are required.