This is a sponsored post by MDsave. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I’ve actually been asking myself this for a while. I perform self checks at home semi-regularly. Whether I’m in the shower or putting on my clothes. I often think, “Oh no. What if I find something?”
My grandma had breast cancer. Which means that anyone in my family could carry the BRCA gene. The recommended age for women to receive preventative screenings is between 40 and 50 years old with checks every two years. I’m well below that threshold, but the anxiety is still there.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and one of the biggest barriers women face in getting a mammogram is the cost and coverage by insurance. If I wanted to get one now, my insurance wouldn’t cover it without proven medical necessity. And for a woman my age, that’s not very likely.
One of the many things about healthcare in the U.S. that upsets me (hello, health communications degree) is that medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in America. When people can’t afford regular and preventative care, they put care off until it becomes urgent (and much more expensive). And their risk of mortality and complications increases as disease and conditions progress. We’re fighting a losing battle here.
According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Latina women:
- may have a higher number of barriers to getting screening mammography than women of other ethnicities
- tend to be diagnosed with more advanced breast cancers than white women. This may be due to lower mammography rates as well as more delays in follow-up after an abnormal mammogram
Breast cancer is still the most common cancer (and the leading cause of cancer death) among Latina women.
And that’s why I wanted to share a campaign MDsave is running through the month of October. They’re offering $99 mammograms to anyone, regardless of insurance. MDsave is changing the healthcare game and turning the current model on its head. They’re increasing access for patients without insurance (or who are underinsured) and offering clear, consistent pricing that you can understand. You’re not going to end up with a surprise bill, because you’re not dealing with insurance.
Booking a Mammogram is Easy
Visit the MDsave website and pick a provider, similar to how you would shop for anything else online and add the procedure to your online shopping cart. Provide all of your regular billing information like you would if you were buying a pair of shoes, or a set of concert tickets (they also accept PayPal!). Just select that you’d like to schedule your appointment and follow the instructions. It’s really that easy.
MDsave has partnered with hospitals around the country to offer $99 mammograms, but if the facility closest to you isn’t participating in the offer, they’re giving you $25 off your mammogram screening with my code LATINA25. Offer terms: Take $25 off mammogram screenings with promo code LATINA25. Offer good on mammograms priced at $125 or more. One-time use only, cannot be combined with other offers or redeemed for cash. Check out participating locations and get your $99 mammogram by visiting mdsave.com/mammogram during the month of October.
With tools like this, I don’t have to worry about going through the impossible pre-approval process. I can get a mammogram when I want one, at a cost I can handle. Please tell your mom, your tía, your sisters, your comadres, your friends, and every woman you know that you care about them. Ask them when they last had a mammogram. Changing the statistics around breast cancer in Latinas starts with every one of us.
This is a sponsored post by MDsave. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
