The screenings will be offered from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, Oct. 10, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24 in the Memorial Breast Center on the campus of the nonprofit hospital, 302 W. Hay St., Suite 117A.

Appointments are required; no walk-ins are available. To schedule an appointment, call 217-876-2320.

While breast cancer screenings at Decatur Memorial Hospital are provided year-round to women who need them, the hospital uses Breast Cancer Awareness Month to build awareness of the importance of screening for breast cancer.

Educational materials, including information on general breast health and how to perform breast self-exams, will be available. Funding for Mammogram Mondays is provided by the Decatur Memorial Hospital Mammography Initiative Program.

The National Cancer Institute recommends that all women age 40 or older have screening mammograms every one to two years. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.

Free mammograms will be offered at all five Memorial Health hospitals in Decatur, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Springfield and Taylorville throughout October.