The Iowa Department of Public Health will offer breast cancer screenings to women in 81 counties with a grant from the Des Moines Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Department of Public Health spokesperson Nicole Peckumn says they estimate the 101-thousand dollar grant will let them target a specific sector of women.
Peckumn says the grant will let them provide breast cancer screening services to approximately 900 underinsured and underserved women . Peckumn says the state needs to screen as many women as possible for breast cancer. She says breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Iowa women. Peckumn says it’s estimated that some 2,100 cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Iowa in 2007. She says early detection will mean a better outcome for women.
Peckumn says there are some eligibility guidelines for the screening. You must be aged 40 to 49 and have a household income of no more than 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Peckumn says if you live in a family of four with an income of $51,625, then you would qualify. The National Cancer Institute recommends women age 40 years and older should be screened every one to two years with a mammogram and women at higher than average risk of breast cancer should seek medical advice about whether they should begin screening before age 40.
Peckumn says this grant will allow women who would not normally be able to get a mammogram to get tested. For more information about the Iowa Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, you can call: 1-800-369-2229.