YWCA-Breast Cancer Awareness and Early Detection Program
This program targets women over the age of 40 who are under-insured and under-served. We provide them with education and free screening services for breast cancer.
Since its inception, the YWCA-Breast Cancer Awareness and Early Detection Program has provided education to over 50,000 women, and 12,500 women have received clinical screening service. Lack of mammography screenings may result in last stage diagnosis or death. This program provides education, awareness, linkage to services; case management to those women with abnormal mammograms and those diagnosed with breast cancer to un-insured/under-insured women to help in early detection of these cancers.
The YWCA–Breast Cancer Awareness and Early Detection Program offers:
- Outreach, breast health education, screening, and support for medically under-served and/or un-insured women
- Links women to no-cost mammograms
- Transportation to breast health related appointments, language translation, advocacy and referral to community resources
- Reminders for annual screenings.
- Incentive gifts to women who complete mammogram screenings
- Provides one-to-one support to those with suspicious screening results, and for women diagnosed with breast cancer.
- Links uninsured women aged 40-64 to various resources for annual Mammogram and Clinical Breast Exam screening
- Un-insured/under-insured resources include: Mercy Hospital, CareNet’s network of providers, ProMedica’s indigent programs, and free breast and cervical screening projects offered by area hospitals.
- YWCA-Touch My Hand Breast Cancer Support Group meets bi-weekly providing support and resources to women who have a cancer diagnosis or those in remission needing supportive services.
- Annual Night of Elegance event: an evening to celebrate “Triumphs over Trials”. Our women endure so many trials; this night is CELEBRATORY! An evening of dinner and dancing.
- Annual Birthday Party celebrating a woman’s second chance at life through early detection, treatment and remission. Each woman celebrates the date of her surgery or start of treatment as a second birthday. This event was implemented when one of our clients shared her celebration of her “new birthday” based on her date of surgery. Because of her motivation and excitement, an annual birthday celebration was implemented to celebrate all of our “surviving thrivers”.
We educate both Medicaid and Medicare recipients about coverage of Annual Screening Mammography and assist them in obtaining the service from providers that accept those benefits. Healthy Connections Breast Cancer Awareness Program provides free breast-health presentations illustrating American Cancer Society guidelines for Mammography, Clinical Breast Exams, and Self-Awareness (knowing what’s normal for them).
BREAST CANCER AWARESSNESS FACTS
- Every 2 Minutes, A Woman Is Diagnosed With Breast Cancer In The US.
- 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lives.
- Every 13 minutes… A WOMAN will die.
- The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are being female and aging. About 95% of all breast cancers in the US occur in women 40 and older.
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the US and the first leading cause of cancer death among women globally.
- Every minute, somewhere in the world, a woman dies from breast cancer. That’s more than 1,400 women every day.
- Each year, it’s expected that about 2,670 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the US, and about 500 will die.
- 62% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a localized stage, for which the 5-year survival rate is 99%. Did you see that said 62%? that’s localized not metastatic.
- Most women 10-15% who get breast cancer do not have a family history.
BREAST CANCER AWARESSNESS IN HEALTHY CONNECTIONS: what’s not Normal?
ALWAYS Consult your Doctor if you experience any of the following!!
- A lump or mass in the breast that feels different from the surrounding tissue
- Change is the shape, size, or appearance of the breast
- Discharge from the nipple
- Breast rash
- Changes in the skin over the breast, for example, dimpling
- Breast pain
- Inverted or pulling-in of the nipple
- Scaling, peeling, or flaking skin over the breast, particularly the dark area around the nipple
- Redness and/or pitting of the breast skin, resembling the skin of orange