Local Program Offers Free Breast Cancer Screening to Uninsured
Women to Help Reduce Their Risk of Death.
October marks the 19th year of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
This is exciting progress, but there are still women who do not take advantage of early detection at all and others who do not get screening mammograms and clinical breast exams at regular intervals. There are many reasons why women do not get yearly exams but a major one is lack of health insurance and the ability to pay for the exam. While almost two thirds of insured women 40 and older in California had a mammogram in the last year, the number plummets to less than one-third of women without insurance.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October — and throughout the entire year — the State of California Department of Health Services offers free clinical breast exams and mammograms to the more than 900,000 low income and uninsured women in California who qualify for these vital services. These services are coordinated locally through the SUCCESS Partnership, serving women in the Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Benito counties.
“Our program wants to let women know that they can get screened for breast cancer even if they do not have insurance,” said Judy Garrison, Project Director. “If all women age 40 and older took advantage of early detection methods – mammography plus clinical breast exam – breast cancer death rates would drop much further, up to 30 percent. The key to mammography screening is that is be done routinely – once is not enough.”
Free screenings for early breast cancer detection are offered for women in California who meet the following qualifying criteria:
• are 40 years old or older
• have low income
• don’t have medical insurance
• have medical insurance that does not cover these services or has a high deductible or co-payment
• are not getting these services through Medi-Cal.
Since the program began in 1985, mammography rates have more than doubled for women age 50 and older (from 25 percent in 1987 to 69 percent in 1998 and breast cancer death rates have declined by 1.6 percent between 1989 and 1995.)
To find out more about these free services and whether they qualify, women can call the toll-free 1-800-511-2300 phone line which operates Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Assistance is offered in languages that include English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese. Callers who qualify for a free clinical breast exam and mammogram are referred to participating health providers in their own neighborhood.
