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Guest column: Take advantage of Well Woman's Day

The North Country Healthcare Williams Clinic will put on a Well Woman's Day May 7 from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. This special event is dedicated to women in an effort to conduct various screenings and provide education for a healthier you. Just in time for Mother's Day, this is a perfect way to show your loved ones how much they mean to you by getting yourself screened for breast and cervical cancer while also pampering yourself with a free chair massage or reflexology appointment.

Mammograms and cervical screenings will be offered free of charge to uninsured women who qualify for the Well Woman HealthCheck program. Women with insurance who are due for their mammograms can also take advantage of this opportunity by scheduling an appointment to be seen by the Assured Imaging mobile mammography unit at the Williams Clinic. The screenings take place at North Country HealthCare Williams clinic, 301 South Seventh Street.

Breast Cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the U.S., and the leading cause of death overall in women between the ages of 40 and 55. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 4,470 new cases of breast cancer will be detected in Arizona in 2013 and 780 lives lost. Coconino County has the fifth highest incidence of breast cancer among the 15 Arizona counties. While advances have been made in prevention, diagnosis, and treatments, early detection still affords the best opportunity for successful treatment and positive outcomes. Mammography can often detect breast cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more effective and a cure is more likely. Numerous studies have shown that early detection with mammography saves lives and increases treatment options.

Cervical cancer starts from cells with pre-cancerous changes (pre-cancers), for most women, pre-cancerous cells may remain unchanged and go away without any treatment. In some women pre-cancerous cells turn into true invasive cancers, which will develop into cervical cancer. The change from pre-cancerous to invasive cancer usually takes several years, although it can sometimes transform in less than a year. Cancer of the cervix may be prevented or detected early by regular screening with the Pap test. If it is detected early, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable cancers. In the United States, the cervical cancer death rate declined by almost 30% between 1992 and 2012, in large part due to the effectiveness of Pap test screening. Coconino County has the third highest incidence rate for cervical cancer cases in the State of Arizona.

The Well Woman HealthCheck Program at North Country HealthCare educates women throughout northern Arizona and helps them get free clinical breast exams, mammograms and Pap tests in their own communities. The purpose is to provide access to quality cancer screening services for Arizona women. The Arizona Department of Health Services, the Avon Foundation for Women and the Phoenix Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure pay for the program.

The Williams Well Woman's Health Day is a perfect opportunity for women without insurance to qualify for these free screening services as well as women with insurance to receive their annual mammogram. Please don't wait to call. Appointments are available by calling (928) 213-6104. These simple screenings could add many more Mother's Days for you and your family.


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