Affordable breast cancer screenings and treatments have become more accessible in Dane County.
The Dane County Public Health Division recently received an $11,500 grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, enabling women needing financial assistance to have access to breast cancer screenings and treatments.
The grant could be available to all women over 18 who meet the income criteria. Students who meet the criteria could benefit from the grant.
If a student has questions or thinks she may be susceptible to breast cancer, she should call the Wisconsin Well Woman program at 242-6392, where she can receive a referral as well as treatment information.
Dane County has provided services to more than 35 women since 2000 and paid more than $19,000 in medical bills, according to Sharyn Wisniewski, Dane County executive assistant.
?We are just enormously grateful to have this source of funding for women who are at or below the federal poverty level who otherwise possibly couldn?t afford it,? Wisniewski said.
The grant has significantly helped women who may have otherwise avoided getting the necessary treatment or screening on time, said David Carlson, communications manager for Dane County?s Department of Human Services.
?It has definitely made a difference in the lives of those women and has helped them,? Carlson said.
According to the National Cancer Institute, between 1992 and 1998, breast cancer incidence increased by 1.2 percent a year. Between 1995 and 1998, however, breast cancer death rates declined more rapidly to 3.4 percent annually.
The Madison affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation is working to lower the breast cancer death rates along with the annual fundraiser, Madison Race for the Cure. This fundraiser has raised more than $577,000 since 1998 for local and national breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs in Dane County and across the country.
The Komen Foundation grant is important for the women of Dane County because it allows all women to have the screenings and treatment that they need. The earlier breast cancer is detected, the sooner it can be treated and cured, Wisniewski said.
?For some women it may mean a difference between life and death,? she said.
Screening for breast cancer is an important decision for women. Women should get screened every year, according to James A. Steward, Medical Oncologist for the University of Wisconsin. Steward said it is likely women avoid screenings because they lack the financial means.
?It is very difficult to pay for anything in health care if you don?t have insurance,? Steward said. ?It?s a major problem in the U.S.?
With the Susan G. Komen Grant, however, a low income will not keep women from receiving the medical care they need.
?Lack of financial means should never be a reason for why someone doesn?t seek medical help,? Wisniewski said.