Partners In Wellness 25th Anniversary Celebration. Makenzie Boucher

The Feist-Weiller Cancer Center Partners In Wellness Program celebrated 25 years of service on Thursday, Oct. 10.

Since 1999, Partners In Wellness has provided cancers screenings to individuals in north and central Louisiana, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

“It was established for the purpose of easing the burden of cancer in north Louisiana while developing research programs that lead to better and more innovative approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment,” Richard Mansour, MD, interim director of Feist-Weiller Cancer Center said.

Louisiana has the fifth highest cancer mortality rate in the nation, with an average of more than 9,000 individuals dying each year due to cancer, Mansour said.

Since 2009, the Partners In Wellness Program has provided more than 39,000 screenings (breast, colon, prostate and cervical) and has screened more than 21,000 individuals in 30-plus underserved communities.

“Early detection decreases the burden of the disease,” said Deborah Gurgel Smith, Ph.D., LSU Health Shreveport School of Allied Health Professions. “We are not here to actually look for sick people. We actually want to make sure we are screening every year so we can detect early and treat earlier to decrease the burden.”