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Mobile mammography unit travels across region to provide accessible care

For middle-aged women, mammograms are crucial to detecting cancer. With different financial and living situations, this can be difficult. That's why there's the Mobile Mammography Unit.
UT's Mobile Mammography Unit has been around since the '80s, but now is equipped with new 3-D technology.

It's important for women when they hit age 40 to start getting mammograms to detect cancer.

With different financial means and living situations, that's not always easy. That's why UT has a special program that caters to you. They've been doing it since the 80's and now have an upgrade in technology.

It’s called the Mobile Mammography Unit: A fully-equipped bus that travels all over the region providing care.

“It is a unit that is exactly like what is inside the hospital, just on the wheels,” said mammography tech Ashlee Griffey. “We go out 6 days a week to 21 surrounding counties.”

The mobile unit works to give access to women who can’t make it to UT for their exams due to financial or commuting difficulties.

“It’s very gratifying as a tech, to go to these areas and parts of the region where otherwise these women would not have access to this type of technology and provide that for them,” Griffey said.

Onboard, there’s a comfy seating lounge to fill out paper work and wait for your appointment, as well as a dressing room and exam room.

Recently, 3-D technology was added to the unit.

“We are the only mobile mammography unit that has the 3-D imaging capabilities,” Griffey said.

The equipment takes images at different angles to show slices of breast tissue which allows for better detection.

If you want to know where it’s headed next, you can call the Breast Health Outreach Program at (865) 305-9753.

If you're a business and want the bus to visit and be available for you employees, they will do private stops.

Financial grants are available for patients without insurance.

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