BILLINGS — Inmates at the Montana Women's Prison are receiving regular breast exams as a way to help detect cancer early.
Intermountain Health's 3-D mammography program brings its mobile bus to the prison quarterly and services roughly 30 women per visit.
Women over the age of 40 are scheduled, as well as those who require follow-up appointments.
"We're so lucky with the science and the technology that we have today. Early detection is saving lives," said Carly May, the medical services manager at the prison.
This bus helps highlight the importance of access to healthcare while still incarcerated. For many of these inmates, an early diagnosis can be the difference between life and death.
"We have to sometimes encourage some of our population to do it, and oftentimes those are the women that we find out they do need further care or treatment," said May. “We are happy to report that we have cancer survivors within the system that was detected from the bus.”
The bus has been coming to the prison since 2016 and has seen many success stories.
One inmate, Rebecca Gun Hammer, has had multiple exams from the clinic and felt that it would encourage her to keep up healthy habits after being released.
"Being in prison, I like that they offer the services to us so that we can get it done something we would have neglected otherwise,“ said Gun Hammer. "When I walk out of here, I will be a healthier person."
Another inmate, Shannon LaMere, recently experienced a situation where doctors found something concerning during an exam.
“This year I had to go for one, and they found some abnormalities. In June, I was told that I possibly had breast cancer,” said LaMere. "I went through this whole month like being sad, mad, every emotion you could think of that I was going through.”
LaMere was scared of what that would mean for her. She had surgery two weeks ago to remove precancerous cells from her breast, and the experience has now changed her perspective on life.
“It was an eye-opener to see how much life would take for granted. It just made me want to become a better person to do better for not only myself, but my children and my grandchildren,” said LaMere.
The program is also showing the importance of having access to healthcare not only in prison but once released.
For many women, this is the first time they are completing routine check-ups for their health.
"I think if you're healthy physically and mentally once you're released from here, you're armed with that knowledge, and that's one less hurdle that you have to try to deal with when you leave here," said May.
That information will also help them advocate for themselves in a healthcare setting.
Before receiving their first exam, many women in the prison were not aware of how to ask questions surrounding their health or conditions, and the quick, 10-minute exam is helping them take steps forward.
“It's embarrassing for them, for some people, to ask a question that they're not sure how to ask. They just don't have the knowledge, so to have that comfortable setting where you can openly talk about your health care needs or discover what those needs may be, that's also empowering," said May.
LaMere's success story is another reason why the prison is urging the importance of getting screened early, and to take the help that is being given.
“No matter how it's offered, take it because your health is the most important thing to you and that's the only way you're going to stay alive," said Gun Hammer.
These screenings serve as a reminder for these women to continue seeking healthcare after being released and take precautions in their care.
“I'm grateful that I had to go through this opportunity so that because if I would have been out, I wouldn't have known. Being incarcerated, it saved me from myself," said LaMere.
