Focus at Four: Expert on mammogram resources in the Brazos Valley
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – A new CDC study found many women aren’t getting regular mammograms because they can’t afford it. Researchers found women with health-related social needs were 20% less likely to get recommended mammograms. That includes experiencing food insecurity or not being able to pay for healthcare.
Brandi Stewart, a nurse practitioner and representative from HealthPoint joined First News at Four on Wednesday.
She recommended that people should decide for themselves if they want a mammogram, but that they should understand there are affordable options available.
“People should be able to make their own healthcare decisions. It just needs to be a conversation. Of course, we want patients to be able to take the best care of themselves. Figuring out those barriers to getting care is really the first step of getting everybody that care that they need,” Stewart said.
HealthPoint has many resources available to decide if a mammogram is right for you, according to Stewart.
”The first and best thing you can do is get in with your provider and if you don’t have one, let’s get your provider so that we can talk about what your true risk factors are, how often we need to screen and when we need to start screening. That’s the biggest and the first hardest step, is just getting into the door,” Stewart said.
She also said since HealthPoint is a federally qualified health center, affordable care is available.
“We are afforded lots of grants and different funding options that we can help for our patients, so we can make sure that we can offer almost every single patient either low cost or no cost,” said Stewart.
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