Memorial receives grant for breast cancer awareness

Published 3:41 pm Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund has awarded a $55,000 one-year grant to Memorial Healthcare System to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer.  It is the Ninth straight year that the program has received Avon Foundation funding to support its work on this important health issue.

The MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at Memorial will continue its outreach efforts with Memorial’s Mobile Mammography Coach to advance education about the importance of breast health and to increase screening among women. Funds from Avon support the outreach along with other partners providing resources for medically underserved women, including the local Chattanooga Susan G. Komen grants awarded to Memorial and Tennessee Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (TBCCP), programs servicing Tennessee’s uninsured and under-served women.  TBCCP partners with local health care providers like Memorial to identify women who meet income guidelines, lack insurance and are in the recommended age bracket to receive breast and cervical cancer screenings. The programs also provide follow up care for women whose test results show abnormalities.

“Avon funding is so important to our program,” said Kathy Dittmar, director of The MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at Memorial.  “This grant will allow us to extend our services to even more women including those employed by companies whose insurance provider does not cover breast care and those living in shelters.  We are very grateful to the Avon Foundation for their willingness to help us as we help others.”

In 2009, Memorial Hospital’s outreach program for Breast Services made 4,720 educational contacts to women with information about the importance of early detection of breast cancer and provided 2,517 screening mammograms and clinical breast exams.  Of those referred, 2,379 mammograms had normal readings, while 138 showed abnormalities and were referred for additional medical services. From this outreach program 9 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009.

This year’s grant ensures that at least 2,000 women will receive breast cancer education, at least 1,200 women will receive mammograms, and another 1,200 will receive clinical breast exams.

Breast Cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the United States and the leading single cause of death overall in women between the ages of 40 and 55.  Thirty to 40 percent of breast cancer deaths could be prevented if all women practiced three early detection steps:  annual mammograms beginning at age 40, annual clinical breast exams beginning at age 20; and monthly breast self-examinations beginning at age 20.  According to the American Cancer Society, the majority of women who don’t comply with these guidelines are poor and underserved.

Since 1993, the Avon Foundation has funded more than 1,000 community-based programs across the United States including the MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at Memorial. These programs are dedicated to educating underserved women about breast cancer and linking them with early detection screening services. These organizations are chosen based on their ability to effectively reach women, particularly minority, low-income and older women, who are often medically underserved.

For more information on Memorial’s outreach breast health programs, to schedule the mobile mammogram coach for your organization or receive information about breast abnormalities and cancer, contact MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at 423-495-6744. For information on the Avon Foundation, contact Karyn Margolis, Avon Foundation for Women, 212-282-5666.