At 5’2” and 5’5”, Brenda Janosko and Brandy Mutschler may look small behind the wheel of their 40-foot-long mobile mammography van. But together, these dynamos are packing a powerful punch in the fight against breast cancer. The two radiology technologists have battled snow, rain, wind and storms to bring mammograms right to the doorsteps of underserved and uninsured women in rural communities near Alpena, Michigan.

Janokso and Mutschler hit the road every work day, traveling about 70 miles from their home base of Alpena Regional Medical Center to offer breast cancer screening services to women in rural areas who otherwise might never be screened. Their van is becoming a familiar sight at places like health clinics, doctors’ offices, health departments, community centers, Wal-Mart and local grocery stores. In fact, more than 1,300 women have hopped on board for a screening since March 2004.

The team of two takes full responsibility for their van, from plugging it into a power source at night to make sure it’s warm for patients the next morning, to brainstorming about marketing tactics. They took truck-driving classes together to earn their commercial driver’s licenses and even picked out the van’s interior décor, right down to the wallpaper. Their days begin and end at Alpena Regional Medical Center, where they pick up patient folders, gowns and supplies in the morning then return film for processing at the day’s end.

“We really enjoy what we do,” says Mutschler. “We can reach women in rural areas who can’t drive, especially elderly women who aren’t comfortable driving long distances.”Adds Janosko, “One of the sites we visit is about 45 minutes away from the closest hospital. It’s a poor community where many people don’t have transportation or insurance. But they can usually get a ride to their local doctor’s office, which is where we set up. Women might be apprehensive or nervous at first, but we take our time and do our best to ease their minds.”

Alpena’s mammography unit was one of seven funded by a $4.1 million gift from the Avon Foundation to the CDC Foundation. In 2003, the CDC Foundation teamed up with CDC to award grants to seven communities to implement mobile mammography screening programs to reach underserved women, such as the uninsured or those living in geographically remote areas. With the help of an Avon-funded scientist at CDC, lessons learned from the programs in these seven communities will be used to enhance similar services in communities across the country.

Why they are heroes:

“The Avon Foundation is extremely proud to support the Avon/CDC Foundation Mobile Access Program, and it is the extraordinary commitment of individuals like Brandy and Brenda that make it effective and successful. Brandy and Brenda, and many others like them, are helping bring to life our mission to make quality breast cancer screening accessible to all women, including those who are medically underserved and geographically isolated. For as long as there is a need, the Avon Foundation is committed to the fight against breast cancer and to partnering with organizations like the CDC Foundation to ensure all women receive parity in medical care, regardless of economic or social circumstances.” - KATHLEEN WALAS, PRESIDENT OF THE AVON FOUNDATION

How the mobile mammography program changes lives:

“I’m really happy that I can come to this mobile unit, because it is so close to home. With this service I don’t have to travel to the hospital and wait, which makes getting a mammogram much easier and more convenient for me.” – MARGARET HARDY, LINCOLN, MICHIGAN