MedWorks and its partners to offer two days of free cancer screenings

May 17 2012

On Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3, 2012, MedWorks, its partners The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and the Cleveland Clinic-Taussig Cancer Center, and volunteers will provide two days of free cancer screenings at a MedWorks clinic held at The Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland, 12201 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.    

This first of its kind, large-scale cancer screening event unites the city's leading health care providers in providing urgently needed preventive care for the underserved. According to the American Cancer Society report Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2012, "studies have shown that those who lack health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage of cancer, when survival rates are much lower and treatment is more extensive and costly."

• The screening clinic on Saturday, June 2^nd will focus on women's health and men's health cancer screenings. Screenings will include pelvic exams, pap tests, clinical breast exams, mammograms, psa tests and rectal exams.
• The clinic on Sunday, June 3^rd will focus on providing sigmoidoscopies (examinations of the lower part of the colon using a flexible tube - to check for colon cancer), dermatology screenings, oral screenings and other cancer-related tests.

MedWorks volunteers will also provide educational information about cancer and MedWorks partner organizations will participate in a resource fair to help connect clinic participants to ongoing medical care providers.

Services will be provided free-of-charge. Patients will be identified through local social service agencies providing safety net services. MedWorks media partner WKYC TV-3 will hold a phone bank to schedule appointments for patients deemed appropriate for each screening tool. Some walk-ins will be accepted.

University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic have committed to providing follow up care for clinic patients who need more comprehensive screenings and/or treatment.