The American Cancer Society predicts nearly 235,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed this year. The key word is "invasive" says Murray Calloway County Hospital Wellness Works Coordinator Melissa Ross, because this form of breast cancer can be prevented with routine mammograms. She speaks with Kate Lochte on Sounds Good about their new breast cancer prevention awareness campaign at the hospital.
"We shouldn't wait to find out," says Melissa Ross, because cancer doesn't wait. If the female population does their screenings as recommended they could capture the disease before it becomes invasive, when it can still be treated relatively easily before chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Unfortunately, one in four women are still not doing the mammogram, according to the CDC in May 2015. Ross hopes that since more women have health insurance this number will change.
She says income and access to health insurance has usually been the issue for people when asked why they weren't getting mammograms. In Calloway County, if you don't have health insurance or are underinsured, you can start by contacting the Health Department. They will do the exam and schedule a mammogram. If cancer is identified, they can link you to sources for treatment. This should eliminate the excuse, she says. The number for more information is 270-753-3381.
A lot of people who haven't signed up for health coverage don't understand the exchanges, she says. 'Kynectors' are available on site at the Health Department every Monday and Tuesday. In Calloway County, you can contact Pam Gray at 270-978-4392, who can help navigate you through the process.
Here's a list of other Kynectors across our region.
The campaign is working with the Health Department to provide gifts for the first 100 women who have never been screened before or if it's been more than two years since their last screening. It runs from July through September. Ross hopes that changing the message has an impact on who hears it and how they act upon it.
"We still have a lot of women who just don't take time for themselves... I can say from personal experience, my mother had breast cancer that was identified on a routine mammogram and because she went through that mammogram they found breast cancer, she went through the treatment and she's been able to meet my children, which she never would have known."
