Susan Sines, 41, of Pine Township will take a trip to the hospital Saturday morning but not to visit a sick friend or get her appendix taken out.

She, like many other working women without adequate medical coverage, will get a free mammogram at United Community Hospital in Pine Township.

A nurse, the married mother of three said she tries to take care of her health by watching what she eats and keeping active.

But when she turned 40 last year, she said, she knew she had to get started getting annual mammograms.

That's when she encountered a snag -- she didn't have insurance to pay for the screening.

"I'm a nurse and I work in this profession, and it's frustrating to not have the kind of coverage I need," Mrs. Sines said. "I also know how important it is to do this because of an aunt."

Her aunt, Margie Krecek, had breast cancer. She died in May 2000 from colon cancer she developed after the breast cancer.

"She was healthy and took care of herself," Mrs. Sines said. "She didn't smoke, exercised and had a great attitude about everything, but she still got cancer."

Because of her aunt, Mrs. Sines became involved four years ago with the Pittsburgh "Race for a Cure," a walk/run held annually on Mother's Day to benefit breast cancer research. "Race for a Cure" is a national program.

Ironically, Mrs. Sines learned in May that health-care providers in Mercer County don't honor the vouchers for free mammograms that race participants get, compliments of the national Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

"I offered to go to another county to get it, but they (the foundation) said you had to get it from the county you lived in," Mrs. Sines said with a sigh.

She heard about UCH's free screenings from the hospital's community relations director Kathy Lehman.

"We've been doing this for eight years," Mrs. Lehman said. "We want to meet the health-care needs for those who don't have coverage for it. Unfortunately having to pay for it out of pocket when you don't have any symptoms is a real deterrent" for women.

The screening, which takes about half an hour, includes a breast exam by a physician, a mammogram, educational materials and a chance to ask questions.

Participants may also work with a replica of a breast to search for five cancer-type lumps using the self-exam technique.

"Some are hard to find. Some are so minute," Mrs. Sines said. "It can give you an idea about what a suspicious lump feels like as opposed to a cyst."

"It's a very relaxed atmosphere, and it's a wonderful review," Mrs. Sines said. "And