Cancer Awareness Event at Polo Grounds Provides 53-year-old Resident with Her First Mammogram 

At age 53, it was a milestone for one NYCHA Polo Grounds resident to have her first mammogram. She was one of approximately 60 residents benefitting from a cancer awareness event in early October that included 18 community-based organizations and health care partners, as well as workshops on nutrition, cancer screening, and mental health awareness. The American Cancer Society recommends women be given the option to have an annual mammogram at age 40 and have routine mammography at age 45. 

“As a resident, it was easy for her to keep the appointment,” one of the event’s organizers, Deymis Baquero, a program manager with the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP), said. “With marginalized communities, accessibility and transport to health care services is important. Having resources and mobile screening on site allows residents to receive services in a centralized location.”  

At the event, community members were able to receive cancer screening or sign up for screening from various health care providers, including NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem; Mount Sinai Hospital; New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell; and Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.  

The National Cervical Cancer Coalition together with the S.A.V.E.D. 4 Life Cancer Corporation, the chief organizer of the event, signed residents up for cancer screening appointments, and Project Renewal’s ScanVan – a mobile mammography and radiology clinic for uninsured adults – provided on-the-spot mammography. The event was also sponsored by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety, the Police Athletic League of New York City, and NYCHA. 

“There is not always the encouragement for women in Black and brown communities to get screened for cancer,” Wogod Alawlaqi, Office of Neighborhood Safety Initiatives Manager, said. “MAP initiatives for health and wellness at NYCHA developments are meant to remove barriers which often deter residents in seeking care.”  

“This Cancer Awareness Event is extremely important to me as a cancer survivor,” Milagros Rosario, a Polo Grounds resident for 55 years, said. She is a 14-year-breast cancer survivor. “Growing up here at NYCHA, years ago there were not as many health awareness events. I am proud to be working with MAP to bring health information to my community.”  

Residents also attended health services workshops such as “Beating Cancer with your Fork” and “Introduction to Cancer Patient Navigation,” both led by Travis Thomas, founder of S.A.V.E.D 4 Life Cancer Corporation, a holistic cancer services center that promotes cancer awareness in homeless shelters, schools, and underserved communities.  

For more information, or to share your ideas about health partnerships at NYCHA, please email Health.Initiatives@nycha.nyc.gov. 

Photo Caption: A woman enters Project Renewal’s ScanVan, a mobile mammography and radiology clinic for uninsured New Yorkers. The ScanVan, which also provides other medical services, was serving NYCHA residents during a Polo Grounds cancer awareness event.