October 15, 2010

Breast Cancer Services Expanding in Central Illinois

 Komen and Heartland Community Health Clinic help uninsured women  

PEORIA, Ill. – Today, National Mammography Day, the Memorial Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced the expansion of breast cancer services in central Illinois, and welcomed Heartland Community Health Clinic as a new agency providing breast and cervical cancer screenings through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP).

“I would like to thank Komen for joining forces with the Illinois Department of Public Health to identify an organization in the Peoria area that would be able to administer the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, which provides free breast and cervical cancer screenings to eligible, uninsured women,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Assistant Director Teresa Garate. “The Department enjoys working with Komen in the battle against breast cancer and looks forward to working with Heartland Community Health Clinic in an effort to make life-saving cancer screenings and exams available to all women.”

The Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program provides free pelvic exams and Pap tests to uninsured woman between the ages of 35-64 and free breast exams and mammograms to uninsured woman between the ages of 40-64. On a case-by-case basis, younger, symptomatic women may be eligible.

Not only are women who are enrolled in the IBCCP and diagnosed with cancer through the Program’s screenings and tests eligible to receive treatment benefits, but so are women who meet IBCCP eligibility requirements but are diagnosed outside the Program.

“As the new agency for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Program, we are excited about this opportunity to work in collaboration with our community partners and Komen to further advance our mission by ensuring that breast and cervical cancer screenings and exams are accessible to eligible, uninsured women,” said Farrell Davies, Heartland Community Health Clinic CEO. “Each and every time we are able to help a woman get preventive care and treatment, we improve the chances that she will be able to fulfill her dreams and to live a happy and quality life with family and friends.”

The Heartland Community Health Clinic will serve uninsured women in Peoria, Woodford and Marshall counties. Women can call 888-522-1282 for information. Medical providers able to screen and test women for breast and cervical cancer are encouraged to contact Heartland Community Health Clinic about providing these much needed services to the women in their community.

The Memorial Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure also announced today it has expanded its reach to an additional 22 counties in Illinois (Bureau, Champaign, Christian, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Fayette, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, LaSalle, Livingston, Logan, Macon, McLean, Menard, Moultrie, Piatt, Putnam, Sangamon, Shelby, Vermillion.)  The Memorial Affiliate now provides breast health services to 911,000 women and their families.  From rural farming communities to urban minority centers, the Memorial Affiliate has been called to action to address the unmet needs of the women of Illinois.  As more counties are “painted pink,” the Komen message of early detection, breast health education and healthy lifestyle choices will continue to spread, leading us toward fulfillment of the Komen mission to save lives and end breast cancer forever.

The best tool for early detection of breast cancer is still having a mammogram. Accurate mammography results are critical for diagnosing breast cancer. To ensure every mammography machine is operating properly, experts from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) inspect nearly 370 mammography facilities throughout Illinois each year. Illinois is one of only four states in the nation approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to certify mammography facilities.

For more information on breast cancer, log onto the Illinois Department of Public Health Web site at www.idph.state.il.us/cancer/types/publications_breast.htm. For more information on the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, log onto www.idph.state.il.us/about/womenshealth/ibccp/index.htm