Not all families in Fort Worth have easy access to health care.
That's when the Texas Health Wellness for Life Mobile Health Program rolls in. The program works to increase awareness of cancer prevention, promote the benefits of cancer screening and offer the community easy accessibility to many types of early detection services, including diabetes and cholesterol blood tests, mammogram screenings, well-woman exams, skin cancer screening, pap tests, and colon and prostate cancer screening.
The program serves four counties – Parker, Hood, Johnson, Tarrant – but has also has sent buses to Dallas and other surrounding areas as well.
Wellness for Life began in 1993 and averages about 6,000 patients a year. So far this year, the program has performed at least 3,600 mammograms, with at least 33 breast cancers detected.
But it doesn't end with just detection. If a screening comes out abnormal, patients are also given next steps in seeking treatment.
"Having the opportunity to actually work in the phase of healthcare where we can actually identify cancer early and even talk to patients about their health so that they can reduce their own risk of developing breast cancer or any other type of cancer, it's just a wonderful thing to be able to do," said Rosemary Galdiano, oncology nurse and manager of Wellness of Life.
