Days before the close of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) New York and the Cancer & Blood Specialists, found it fitting to collaborate with the office of Senator Kevin Parker on Oct. 28 to host a free mammogram event at its state-of-the-art facilities, 2236 Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn.
The 39,000-square-foot oncology center that opened its doors last January and operate two independent practices in the shared facility near the intersection of Flatbush and Nostrand avenues, Little Caribbean and Little Haiti communities, provide imaging, cancer therapy and clinical trials.
The MSK practice named Memorial Medical Care, that caters to a cross-section of the Brooklyn community, is geared towards cancer awareness, and will continue to have free mammograms available every Monday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., said Marketing Project Director Michael Scanlon.
He told Caribbean Life that the two-level amenity is to give back to the community, and to embrace and empower especially programs for women to take control of their breast health.
He added that the service is to make sure that residents know not only to get their screenings done but have proper access to care right in their community. “It is vitally important that people pay attention not only to their breast health but screening for other forms of cancer services that they deserve.”
“Early detection is very important, we like being here to ensure that women in this area get easy access to care,” he said, adding that the facility is community-based, like others on Long Island, conveniently located in the community, and offers hematology, imaging, and surgery, as part of the overall treatments.
MSK Cancer Center Physician Liaison and Senior Care Coordinator of the building, Klein Dolcine, said it is a great opportunity for MSK to be able to provide its services in the zip code that actually “needs our services so to speak. Prior to opening this building, persons who had new diagnosis of cancer would have to travel from Brooklyn to the Upper East Side of Manhattan and spend the whole day there and do all their services.”
“Our collaboration with New York Cancer Blood allows us to bring our world class style of cancer care into the Brooklyn neighborhood to help marginalized black and brown people,” said Dolcine, who is of Haitian heritage.
He noted the Italian and Jewish communities in south Brooklyn also have access to visits where diagnosis, second opinions, clinical trials, follow-up services offered by Oscar B. Lahoud, MD – MSK Bone Marrow transplant specialist & cellular therapist.
“Our focus is offering world class cancer care to people in the community that have been historically underserved. I would say about 70% of our clientele are of African descent, Afro Caribbean, Afro Latino descent.”
“We collaborate with all the other Caribbean community members. We’ve also started a lecture series while supporting emerging leaders, students of color studying at Brooklyn College. They have an opportunity to conduct interviews and be able to shadow and support some of our memorial Sloan Kettering doctors as well,” said Dolcine.
For appointments, call 929-346-6007, www.nycancer.com
