Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson and New York City Council Member Eric Dinowitz paid a special visit to Montefiore Einstein to present a generous donation totaling $1.4 million, enabling the acquisition of two new, state-of-the-art mammography units with enhanced 3D imaging and the latest AI for more accurate screening. Their donation also has provided for a mobile mammography unit that will be vital for screening the most vulnerable in our communities.

Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging, and Nancy Dejoie, from Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center’s BOLD Buddies program, also attended the event and shared powerful stories of their personal battles with breast cancer—expressing their gratitude for the extraordinary care they received from Montefiore Einstein.

“Prevention and early detection are key to changing the path of breast cancer,” stated Philip O. Ozuah, MD, PhD, President and CEO, Montefiore Einstein. “Early detection is only possible when we expand access and when we take testing and screening to where people are,” he added.

“I am so proud to join my colleague, Council Member Eric Dinowitz, in this important investment because I truly know that this money that we are investing is about saving lives. It is about advancing technology. It is about more services and programs and resources,” Gibson said. “But most importantly, it is about giving people hope and giving them another start at life beyond a breast cancer diagnosis.”

Enabling mobile mammography will reach the people statistically most at risk for breast cancer. “We’ve looked at 20 years of data for people who are diagnosed with breast cancer here in the Bronx and found that those who are diagnosed at advanced stages are more likely to live within certain ZIP codes,” said Sheldon M. Feldman, MD, Chief, Breast Surgery and Breast Surgical Oncology, Director, Breast Cancer Services, Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Professor, Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “Mobile mammography gives us the tools to go into those specific communities and identify breast cancer at the earliest possible stage so that the treatments will be effective, and the side effects will be minimal.”

“We rely on Montefiore Einstein’s incredible work and relationship with the community,” Dinowitz stated. “Whether it’s legislation, and in this case, budget, that’s what we can do to support the lifesaving work that you are doing. And meeting people where they are is one of the most critical aspects of saving lives.”

Learn more about cancer screenings, testing and prevention resources at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, or schedule an appointment by calling 833-632-2623.