New program in Ocoee helps women get mammograms with no appointment

Walk-in Wednesdays program now offered at Orlando Health

OCOEE, Fla. – Orlando Health’s Health Central campus is taking part in a pilot program to encourage women to get their annual mammograms.

Starting June 7, “Walk-in Wednesdays” will allow women to come in and get a mammogram without an appointment every Wednesday indefinitely.

“They can just walk right up to reception, and we can get everything scheduled within 5 minutes for them, and then the exam time would be probably 10 minutes. So they would be here 15 minutes total instead of possibly waiting on the line of the phone for 15 minutes just to schedule the appointment,” said mammographer and Women’s Center supervisor Heather Buchanan.

Buchanan said mammograms are crucial when it comes to early detection.

[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]

“We can find something at what we call a stage zero cancer,” Buchanan said. “So something that we know is atypical that could turn into cancer. We can find it at that stage so it never is a full-blown cancer in your breast. We can remove it with just surgery alone.”

As we reported last month, new recommendations from a task force of medical experts urged women to begin mammograms at 40.

“Unfortunately, we have seen patients younger and younger getting diagnosed with some type of atypia or breast cancer,” Buchanan said. “So being able to lower the age to let women know, hey, you can come in earlier because it will help us with your preventative care.”

Patients can get their mammograms without an appointment every Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Orlando Health Health Central campus located at 10000 W. Colonial Drive, Ocoee. The patient’s payment will be processed through their insurance and if they are uninsured, the mammogram is $200.

Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:


About the Author:

Emily joined WKMG-TV in November 2022, returning home to Central Florida.

Recommended Videos