Roswell Park Expands EDDY Program with Region’s First Mobile Screening Center for Breast and Prostate Cancer

Determined to make cancer screening accessible for people across Western New York, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is proud to unveil the region’s most comprehensive mobile cancer screening initiative. With the addition of a new EDDY Mobile Breast & Prostate Cancer Screening Center, Roswell Park has launched the first program in the region to address early detection for the three most common invasive cancers. 

The mobile unit is funded in part by an allocation from New York State and Governor Kathy Hochul in an effort to improve health equity and reduce cancer’s burden on underserved urban, rural and minority communities. The program expands an initiative started three years ago when Roswell Park launched its Early Detection Driven to You mobile screening program for lung cancer — the first effort of its kind in New York State. Since taking office, Governor Hochul has supported prevention and early detection initiatives at Roswell Park including mobile lung screening, mobile breast and prostate cancer screening, and the buildout of Roswell Park’s Community Outreach & Engagement Center at 907 Michigan Ave.

In collaboration with the Buffalo Urban League and other partners, EDDY will provide convenient access to state-of-the-art screening and services for individuals at elevated risk of developing and dying from these cancers and who may have no other options to receive cancer screening services. ​

“We’re bringing state-of-the-art cancer screening and expertise to neighborhoods and communities that have been endangered by insufficient resources and barriers to care,” says Candace Johnson, PhD, President, CEO and M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership at Roswell Park. “Where you live should not determine how healthy you are. Thanks to Governor Hochul, the New York State Legislature, our incredible community outreach team and the dozens of partners who have helped inform and shape our program, we have the opportunity to save thousands of lives by catching treatable cancers sooner.”

In a press conference today at the Johnnie B. Wiley Sports Pavilion on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, Roswell Park leaders and partners detailed plans for the screening unit and its impact on the health of the Western New York community.

“Buffalo Urban League is proud to partner with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to bring this essential resource to our community,” said Buffalo Urban League President & CEO Thomas Beauford Jr. and Board Chair Eunice A Lewin. “We are grateful to New York State for their support of this mobile unit which removes barriers to improved health outcomes by expanding the delivery of critical screening services beyond the brick-and-mortar network.”

“Our Community Outreach and Engagement team is excited to bring these critical health services to our neighbors in the heart of the community,” says Elizabeth Bouchard, MA, PhD, Senior Vice President for Community Outreach and Engagement at Roswell Park.

“No one should be left behind in the fight against cancer. EDDY is helping us bring cancer screening right to your doorstep. It represents our commitment to breaking down barriers and building healthier communities. This is a promise that matters deeply here in Western New York, where cancer disparities have been a longtime challenge,” says physician Julia Devonish, MD, PhD, Medical Director of EDDY and of the Buffalo Niagara National Witness Project, a community-based breast and cervical cancer screening program with locations throughout the country.

The EDDY Mobile Breast & Prostate Cancer Screening Center will contain state-of-the-art screening technology similar to that found at Roswell Park, the region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. Specially trained patient navigators, several of them fluent in Spanish, will coordinate outreach through block clubs, community organizations and health centers in underserved and low-income communities.

The EDDY Mobile Breast & Prostate Cancer Screening Center will hit the road in December, with a focus on locations in the City of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Women eligible for mammograms include those 40 and up, and for women younger than 40 if they are determined to be at high risk of developing breast cancer. For men, prostate screenings are available for those ages 45-75, or beginning as young as age 40 for those determined to be at high risk.

“Mammograms save lives, but too many women still miss screenings because of circumstances beyond their control,” says Ermelinda Bonaccio, MD, FACR, Chair of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging at Roswell Park and member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis Panel. “By bringing mammograms directly to communities, we’re breaking down barriers and ensuring every woman has access to early detection — the most powerful defense against breast cancer.”

“Prostate cancer is often silent in its early stages, which makes screening critical,” says Eric Kauffman, MD, Roswell Park urologic oncologist and member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Prostate Cancer Early Detection Panel. “With EDDY, we’re bringing care directly to neighborhoods where it’s needed most. That is how we turn early detection into lives saved.”

“Sometimes we want to build things and expect that people are going to show up there because we built it. Sometimes we’ve got to go to them,” says New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes.

“It’s additional Christmases, it’s seeing your kid graduate, seeing your daughter walk down the aisle — that’s what it really is for people,” says New York State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt. “There’s no reason that people in Orleans County, here in the City of Buffalo, Niagara Falls or anywhere in between shouldn’t have that same opportunity.” 

“Black and brown communities continue to experience disproportionate outcomes to breast and prostate cancer,” says Leah Halton-Pope, Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader and Ellicott District Councilwoman. “Not because of biology, but because of barriers. This mobile screening unit helps break all of those barriers. It brings world-class healthcare to the block.”

“It’s warranted that we create spaces like EDDY. You have to go where the need is,” says Zeneta Everhart, Buffalo Common Councilwoman for the Masten District. “That shows people that government cares about them, these facilities care about them and Roswell cares about them. Roswell is willing to come wherever the need is great.”

“Early detection is what saved my life and actually enabled me to participate more in the cancer landscape,” says prostate cancer survivor Brian Archie, Niagara Falls City Councilmember and Executive Director of Create a Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative, who helps guide and shape programs as a member of Roswell Park’s Community Advisory Board. “We have to be strategic in how we make sure that things are accessible and equitable for communities.”

“I lived the warning that we’re trying to give to this community today,” says Veronica Meadows Ray, breast cancer survivor and outreach professional. “We’ve learned what survivorship looks like, what early detection looks like, what early follow-up looks like, what early treatment looks like.”

Facts about breast cancer and mammograms:

• All women are at risk for breast cancer, and 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
• When Black women are diagnosed with breast cancer, they are more likely to have advanced disease and lower survival than white women.
• Screening can detect a possible cancer before it spreads.
• Women age 40 and older should be screened each year. Women should begin speaking to their doctors about screening at age 25.

Facts about prostate cancer and prostate cancer screening:

• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Screening can detect the disease when treatment is most effective, and save your life.
• Black men are more likely to get prostate cancer than any other population group.
• Prostate cancer screening is recommended for men ages 45-75, and earlier for those at higher risk (African American men or men with a family history of prostate cancer, especially in a father or brother).
• Not all prostate cancers need treatment. Some patients can be monitored and begin treatment only if the cancer grows.
• The PSA blood test used worldwide to detect prostate cancer was developed by Roswell Park researchers led by T. Ming Chu, PhD.

Since Roswell Park launched Early Detection Driven to You in 2022, the EDDY Mobile Lung Cancer Screening Center has visited 52 unique locations across Western New York, screening nearly 2,000 people.

To follow EDDY in the community, learn more about available screening services and watch a virtual tour of the EDDY Mobile Breast & Prostate Cancer Screening Center led by Dr. Julia Devonish, go to RoswellPark.org/EDDY.