Brain Tumor Foundation Offers Free Scans In Boston
BOSTON (CBS) - The Brain Tumor Foundation begins its week-long visit to the city of Boston offering free brain scans to the public, by appointment only. The MRI van is parked on Congress Street Plaza at 100 Federal Street and is welcoming all comers over the age of 18 who can identify a primary care physician to receive the formal report, so that any abnormalities can be addressed.
Michael Shreiber, whose father died of a brain tumor, is the Chairman of the Board of the Brain Tumor Foundation and has helped sponsor the MRI van here in Boston. "We're hoping that early detection of brain tumors will eventually be able to produce a cure," says Schreiber.
Dr. Adam Sonabend, a neurosurgeon at Columbia University Medical Center who is partnering with the Brain Tumor Foundation on this project, says people worry about having a brain tumor for a number of reasons. "Patients are concerned because either they have a family history of having a brain tumor or symptoms they can't explain or different motivations, depending on the person." He adds, "You know brain tumor symptoms may be very different depending on who has them and where the tumor is. Most people hopefully have nothing."
Patients will also fill out questionnaires and that data along with the scans will be analyzed by experts at Columbia University who are looking for possible environmental and genetic causes of brain tumors.
The van will remain in Boston until Saturday, June 20th and then visit other cities around the country. To make an appointment online, go to www.braintumorfoundation.org.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports
