The Vanderbilt Breast Center will celebrate National Mammography Day, Friday, Oct. 16, at Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks, 719 Thompson Lane. National Mammography Day is observed on the third Friday in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Throughout the month of October, the Vanderbilt Breast Center is giving patients free pink ribbon pins and pink nail files. Patients also can sign up for a weekly giveaway event. Each Friday, one name is drawn and the patient selected receives a free gift.

The National Cancer Institute estimates that 192,370 women and 1,910 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,170 women and 440 men will die from the disease in 2009. The American Cancer Society recommends annual yearly screening mammograms for women beginning at age 40. Patients with a family history of breast cancer are encouraged to begin screening even earlier.

The Vanderbilt Breast Center features all-digital mammography screening equipment, the latest in ultrasound equipment and the only MRI dedicated exclusively to breast screening at a comprehensive breast cancer center in Middle Tennessee.

The Vanderbilt Breast Center is affiliated with the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

To make an appointment, please call 615-322-2064.