{"id":194537,"date":"2026-03-04T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/?p=194537"},"modified":"2026-03-04T17:26:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T00:26:59","slug":"breasts-botox-and-saving-lives-boob-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/community\/breasts-botox-and-saving-lives-boob-bus\/","title":{"rendered":"Breasts, Botox and Saving Lives: Boob Bus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s a fun drink while getting your steps in or squeezing in your root touch-up, we\u2019re all well-versed in our own brand of self-care. Preventive healthcare, however, often falls to the bottom of the list, especially when it requires time off work, a hospital and a willingness to confront the unknown. With a bus and inspiring conviction, Rena Vanzo<\/strong><\/a> seeks to address the elephant in the room \u2014 or more, the breasts: Utahns aren\u2019t getting mammograms.<\/p>\n

\"Rena
The Boob Bus seeks to redefine what it means to check an annual mammogram off the to-do list. Photo: Carly Duke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWomen should be screened every year once they turn 40\u2026 Utah\u2019s well below the national average, and we\u2019re in the bottom five.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As a professional geneticist, Vanzo faced this reality shortly after completing her first mammogram. Though her results were healthy, the experience felt rushed and incomplete. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t really an educational experience,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI was just kind of in the door, out the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

That absence felt heavier given her history; her grandmother, Doris Jean<\/strong>, survived breast cancer, and her great-aunt died of it at just 39. The disconnect pushed her to search for a better way, where she uncovered a sobering truth. \u201cWomen should be screened every year once they turn 40\u2026 Utah\u2019s well below the national average, and we\u2019re in the bottom five,\u201d she says. \u201cSo I thought, \u2018Wow, what if I could create this kind of experience for people that\u2019s a little bit more educational\u2026 and a little bit more fun?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That idea became the Boob Bus: a fully accredited, insurance-accepting, mobile mammography clinic wrapped in pink and white, named after her grandmother (we love you, Doris) and designed from the inside out to feel warm, playful, and safe. Once inside, you\u2019re greeted by passionate employees and a welcoming environment that puts you at ease. An assortment of inclusive boob pillows and cheeky pink-bra wallpaper offers comfort while\u00a0you wait. You\u2019re provided a plush robe, warmed especially for you, and may even decide to refresh your Botox as one of many additional services. The experience is framed to welcome a wide variety of people, making space for care that feels inviting to everyone. Framed as its own type of \u201ctreat yourself\u201d day, The Boob Bus seeks to redefine what it means to check an annual mammogram off the to-do list. As Vanzo puts it, \u201cour vision is a world where no woman misses her annual mammogram. We don\u2019t want people to think they\u2019re an inconvenience\u2026 This is a service. And I feel like that is the way health care should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rena
The Boob Bus makes preventive healthcare accessible to people whose lives don\u2019t easily accommodate a hospital visit. Photo: Carly Duke<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I think that as a community, we need to be investing in these sorts of things so that women \u2014 all people \u2014 access health care how it best suits their situation.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A service on wheels for good reason, The Boob Bus doesn\u2019t travel just for Insta-worthy photos, but to make preventive healthcare accessible to people whose lives don\u2019t easily accommodate a hospital visit. As Vanzo puts it, \u201cMore and more you\u2019re seeing other things become do at home, do it yourself\u2026 I think that as a community, we need to be investing in these sorts of things so that women \u2014 all people \u2014 access health care how it best suits their situation.\u201d That reality includes rural geography, but also long workdays, childcare, transportation and simply a chunk of time many can\u2019t afford to lose. Still, accessibility alone isn\u2019t enough if fear keeps people from stepping inside. The experience, Vanzo knows, is \u201cas emotional as it is clinical,\u201d especially for those who admit to their fear. She reminds them it\u2019s never too late for your first mammogram. By making space for conversation, education and updated pinch-free technology, the Boob Bus helps dismantle those fears. The response speaks for itself: \u201cWe survey everybody who\u2019s done [a mammogram], and 90% of women say it was way easier than they expected,\u201d Vanzo happily reports.<\/p>\n

With all respect to Fergie<\/strong><\/a>, it\u2019s time we truly care for our lovely lady lumps. With hereditary cancer screening and modern mammogram technology more easily brought to us than ever before, preventive care becomes less intimidating \u2014 and harder to ignore.<\/p>\n

So book your annual appointment at www.theboobbus.com<\/a>,<\/em> and when making sure you\u2019re in tiptop shape, please don\u2019t skip the nips!<\/p>\n

Read more community SLUG<\/em> coverage:<\/strong>
\nTacos are a Love Language at Lone Star Taqueria<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/em>The Art and Life of Alex Caldiero<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Boob Bus seeks to redefine what it means to check an annual mammogram off the to-do list. As Vanzo puts it, \u201cour vision is a world where no woman misses her annual mammogram. We don\u2019t want people to think they\u2019re an inconvenience\u2026 This is a service. And I feel like that is the way health care should be.\u201d … read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":194776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[16988,340],"tags":[31728,17454,5245,19380,31729],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194537"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}