LITTLE ROCK – Free or low-cost breast exams, pap tests and mammograms are available to Arkansas County women 40 and older who qualify through The Witness Project, a community-based cancer education program of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Public Health and the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC).

The mobile mammography unit will be in Dewitt on Wednesday, March 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Phillips Community College, Highway 165. Health care professionals from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Hot Springs will perform the mammograms.

Women in Arkansas County and the surrounding area who wish to receive the health screenings must call (800) 275-1183 to find out the requirements and to schedule an appointment. Women with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance may be eligible for the services.

The Witness Project promotes cancer awareness among African-American women and medically underserved women. African-American women who are breast or cervical cancer survivors serve as role models and “witness” at churches and civic groups about their triumphs over cancer. Through this program, more women – particularly in the rural parts of Arkansas – are becoming better informed about early detection in the fight against breast and cervical cancer. The Witness Program is supported by the BreastCare Program of the Arkansas Department of Health.

For more information about the program, or to learn how you can become a volunteer, write to the ACRC, 4301 West Markham, # 629-A, Little Rock, AR 72205; or call (800) 275-1183.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has more than 2,200 students and 660 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.1 billion a year.

UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute. 

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