‘See, Test, & Treat’ Event Addresses Gaps in Health Care
UT Southwestern Medical Center and Moncrief Cancer Institute worked in tandem to host a free breast and cervical cancer screening event for underserved women. The event, “See, Test, & Treat,” was hosted at the UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at Moncrief Cancer Institute in Fort Worth on Sept. 18.
The program is unique in its turnaround time, working quickly to provide same-day results to women who received mammogram and Pap smear tests. In all, 60 women received the screening tests by UT Southwestern staff as a part of this one-day event. Patients in need of diagnostic care were also scheduled for follow-up appointments. Many UT Southwestern faculty, residents, and staff came together to make the event a success.
Leading “See, Test, & Treat” as program Chair was Andrew Quinn, M.D., Director of Pathology Informatics. Dr. Quinn also helped organize the event, which was postponed last year due to COVID-19.
On the day of the event he manned the pathology station, which was set up to educate attendees on the laboratory testing process. With a patient population at Moncrief Cancer Institute that includes many Spanish-speaking individuals, he said it “was nice for me to be able to use my Spanish. I was able to interact with patients and explain things in their language.”
“See, Test, & Treat” is a signature event of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Foundation, which hosts screening days across the nation every year to address gaps in health care and partially funded the UTSW and Moncrief event.
Mahdi Awwad, M.D., FAAFP, Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, worked with Associate Professors Tamara McGregor, M.D., Zaiba Jetpuri, D.O., and the Family Medicine Residents to provide breast examinations and Pap tests. Dr. Awwad was drawn to the event to provide care to underserved populations who otherwise might not be able to get these services easily. “It’s always a great feeling to be affiliated with a large entity that cares for the underserved,” he said. “It gives you that appreciative feeling and reminds me of why I went into medicine in the first place.”
Jessica Porembka, M.D., Medical Director of Breast Imaging and Quality Assurance at Parkland, also lent her expertise to the event. She and her team of imaging professionals read mammograms in real time to provide results to patients the same day. All mammograms were provided by mammography technologists in UT Southwestern’s Imaging Department.
As an Oncology Clinic Supervisor at Moncrief Cancer Institute, Angela Williams, RN, and her team played a vital role in planning and executing the event. “See, Test, & Treat” was a two-fold operation in her eyes. “It’s about serving the community; that’s the biggest portion of what we do. But we also want to drive home that early detection is the most important thing when it comes to women’s health screenings.”
