In celebrating the cherished role of women this Mother’s Day,
the Success Partnership suggests mothers and all women age 40 and
older to get screened for breast cancer every year.
In celebrating the cherished role of women this Mother’s Day, the Success Partnership suggests mothers and all women age 40 and older to get screened for breast cancer every year.
“Moms have a way of putting their families’ health needs first, especially if they don’t have insurance,” said Judy Garrison, program director for the Partnership. “We want to alert the many women without insurance in our area that free clinical breast exams and mammograms are available at local health facilities participating in the statewide program called, Cancer Detection Programs: Every Woman Counts.”
Cancer Detection Programs: Every Woman Counts, operated by the California Department of Health Services, provides breast cancer screening services to more than 165,000 low income and uninsured women a year. These services are coordinated locally through Success Partnership, serving women throughout the Central Coast area.
Twenty-one percent of California women are without health insurance. Women without insurance are far less likely to have regular life-saving clinical breast exams and mammograms. In fact, for California women age 40 and older, less than one-third of uninsured women received a mammogram in the past year versus two-thirds of insured women.
“Yearly screenings can detect breast cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages, offering the best chance for long-term survival,” said Garrison. “During this Mother’s Day season, we encourage families to schedule a breast cancer screening and mammogram for their loved one as a special way to show their love and appreciation.”
Women 40 and older, and especially women 50 and older, are at greatest risk for breast cancer. Statewide, more than 75 percent of the women served by Cancer Detection Programs: Every Woman Counts breast cancer screening program are women of color. Free screenings for early breast cancer detection are offered to women in California who:
• are 40 years of age or older
•have low income-don’t have medical insurance, have
medical insurance that does not cover these
services, or have a high deductible or co-payment
• are not getting these services through Medi-Cal.
To find out more about these free services, women (or their loved ones) can call the toll-free 1-800-511-2300 phone line, which operates Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Assistance is offered in 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.
