Council Member Joseph C. Borelli wants you to know that getting a preventative health screening can save your life, and that is why he is partnering with HeartScan Services to offer no-cost thyroid cancer screenings to members of the community, especially active and retired emergency responders.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there were an estimated 637,115 people living with thyroid cancer in the United States in 2013, and recent clinical findings show thyroid cancer as the fastest increasing cancer in the United States. It is also one of the top five cancers contracted by emergency responders who served on September 11, 2001.

The risk factors for thyroid cancer are wide ranging and include age, family history, surgery, or radiation to the neck, type 1 diabetes and pregnancy, and it is recommended by the American Thyroid Association that all adults 35 years and older see their physician for a thyroid screening at least once every five years.

These no-cost screenings will be offered at the Richmondtown branch of the New York Public Library (located at 200 Clarke Avenue) on Thursday, January 18, 2018 between the hours of 11am to 2pm. The number of screenings is limited, and all those interested must RSVP by contacting Borelli’s office by phone: (718) 984-5151; or by email: borelli@council.nyc.gov.

The screenings were made possible through funding from Council Member Borelli.

“After the September 11th attacks, we saw a dramatic increase in thyroid cancer among first responders and those who spent time in lower Manhattan,” said Borelli. “It is a fact that early detection saves lives, and we hope many people will take advantage of this opportunity to get checked.”