Thursday, May 29, 2008
Program helps women get screenings
"Every Woman's Life" offers breast and cervical cancer screenings for women regionally.
Photo courtesy of Sharon Rapoport
The Greater Roanoke Valley Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure recently awarded a grant to help area women receive breast and cervical cancer screening services.
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Kathy Womack says that more of her patients have been struggling since the start of the year.
Many are working fewer hours or going from full to part time. Some have lost their insurance while others can no longer afford it.
During such times, life's pressing concerns can often take precedence over screening for cancer.
"It doesn't seem as high a priority as taking care of children or taking care of older parents, putting food on the table or putting gas in the car," said Womack, a Carilion Clinic registered nurse and two-time cancer survivor.
Womack works with Every Woman's Life, a state program that offers breast and cervical cancer screenings locally through Carilion.
Each year, the state allocates enough money to screen between 400 and 500 women in this region.
Now, a new grant will help 220 additional women receive help with cancer screening and surveillance.
The Greater Roanoke Valley Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure recently awarded another $60,000 to EWL. The grant targets women who need it most: those who are uninsured or underinsured and impoverished in the greater Roanoke Valley area.
"It's the perfect first grant for us," said Sharon Rapoport, who works with the local Komen group that started less than a year and a half ago.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grass-roots breast cancer movement, according to its Web site, and the group's local affiliate helps women in 19 counties from Bath County to Pittsylvania County.
Wendi Schultz, chairwoman of the Komen grants committee, said approximately 29,088 women who are in poverty and 35 years or older remain unscreened in the affiliate's coverage area.
Every Woman's Life seeks to reduce barriers, increase access and improve outcomes through early cancer detection. Women who do not receive regular screening are more likely to have advanced stages of cancer and a decreased chance of survival.
"We try to minimize anything that would be perceived as a barrier," Womack said.
Such barriers can include anything from the high price of gasoline, scheduling difficulties or discomfort or fear about what screening entails.
EWL employees try to minimize such barriers by providing women with bus tickets to get to a screening location, organizing car pools and working with women's demanding schedules.
"What's really important is to offer a hand when it's needed, and offer a door to the screenings," Womack said.
