{"id":72560,"date":"2023-08-02T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/08\/02\/va-offers-free-breast-cancer-screenings-to-burn-pit-vets-40-under\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:15:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:15:43","slug":"va-offers-free-breast-cancer-screenings-to-burn-pit-vets-40-under","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2023\/08\/02\/va-offers-free-breast-cancer-screenings-to-burn-pit-vets-40-under\/","title":{"rendered":"VA offers free breast cancer screenings to burn-pit vets 40 and under"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Younger women veterans who served<\/a> near burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan<\/a> are being encouraged to get free breast cancer screenings from Veterans Affairs<\/a> physicians in an effort to identify serious health issues as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veterans Affairs officials announced plans to make breast cancer risk assessments and some mammograms free for women veterans 40 and younger who served in combat areas where burn pits and other toxins were present<\/a>. The services are already free for women older than 40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe at VA are expanding breast cancer screenings for toxic-exposed veterans because early detection saves lives,\u201d said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement.<\/a> \u201cThis is an important step toward making sure that breast cancer is diagnosed early, treated early, and \u2014 hopefully \u2014 sent into remission early.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move was mandated under the Dr. Kate Hendricks Thomas SERVICE Act<\/a>, passed into law by Congress in June 2022. Thomas was a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and contracted breast cancer from her exposure to toxic burn pit smoke there. She died at age 42, two months before the bill was passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\t