FROM STAFF REPORTS/For the Reporter

BIRMINGHAM – St. Vincent’s Health System will offer $99 mammograms in October in conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

St. Vincent’s hopes the reduced price mammograms will encourage and enable more women to get screened for breast cancer, according to a press release.

Studies show small tumors can be detected by mammograms up to three years before they can be felt by a woman or her doctor. The American Cancer Society recommends that women 40 and older should have a yearly screening mammogram for as long as they are in good health. Women of any age experiencing problems or women under 35 should contact their doctor for a referral.

“It is our mission to keep people healthy as much as it is to treat individuals who are sick,” said John O’Neil, St.Vincent’s Health System President and CEO. “Each year, our October mammography special helps women to schedule screenings so that any breast cancer may be caught early, when it is most curable. Through this and a variety of Women’s Services, we hope to encourage women to appropriately include mammography and self-exams as a part of their personal wellness efforts.”

The reduced mammograms are available by appointment in October at St. Vincent’s locations in the Birmingham, including St. Vincent’s One Nineteen in Shelby County. Call 205-408-6450.