Whittier Street Health Center, a community health center with a mission to serve as a center of excellence that provides high quality and accessible health care and social services that achieve health equity, social justice, and the economic well-being of a diverse patient population, recognizes October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time annually devoted to educating everyone about breast cancer and the importance of early detection and access to timely, high-quality care.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in American women, with statistics provided by the Susan G. Komen website (www.komen.org) indicating that in 2022 there will be 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer among women in the U.S. and 2,710 new cases among men.
Becoming familiar with early signs and symptoms can be a literal life saver. Whittier Street Health Center is dedicated to help our communities beat this disease by detecting it early and connecting our patients to state-of-the-art cancer care. To that end, Whittier partners with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to help provide greater access to cancer screening and treatment to the underserved communities of Boston. This includes an on-site mammography suite at Whittier’s main campus at 1290 Tremont Street in Roxbury.
“The importance of regular breast examinations and screenings cannot be overemphasized when statistics show that one in eight women will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, “ said Frederica M. Williams, president and CEO of Whittier Street Health Center. “In addition to regular screenings, making healthy choices like eating right, staying active, and not smoking can help reduce the risk of a diagnosis that no woman – or man – ever wants to receive.”
About Whittier Street Health Center
Whittier Street Health Center is an independently licensed community health care center with a mission of providing high quality, reliable and accessible primary healthcare for diverse populations while promoting wellness and eliminating health and social disparities. A champion of equitable access to high quality, patient-focused care, social justice and economic equity, Whittier Street Health Center is accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC), certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, and recognized by the NCQA for its Behavioral Health Integration. Through its locations in Roxbury and North Dorchester, and its Mobile Health Van program, Whittier Street Health Center serves more than 30,000 patients and 20,000 community outreach visits annually; its ethnically and racially diverse patient base is primarily made up of individuals from Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, the South End and greater Boston. Approximately 28% of Whittier’s patients are uninsured. Whittier Street Health Center provides a comprehensive array of 40 healthcare programs and services designed to meet the primary health care, behavioral health, and social needs of the community. For more information, please visit www.wshc.org as well as Facebook (www.facebook.com/WhittierStreetHealthCenter), Twitter (@Whittier_Boston), or LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/whittier-street-health-center), or call 617-989-3221.
