LITTLE ROCK – Free or low-cost mammograms are available Dec. 11 to Lee 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.

Women who want to receive the screenings should call (800) 275-1183 to see if they qualify through the BreastCare program, Medicare or Medicaid. Pre-registration is required.

The St. Bernards Healthcare mobile mammography unit will be at the Lee County Cooperative Clinic, 530 W. Atkins Blvd., in Marianna, from 9 a.m.-2:45 p.m. on Dec. 11.

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.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,652 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. Visit www.uams.edu.