Have you been putting off your breast cancer screening mammogram or diagnostic testing due to affordability?
Susan G. Komen is partnering with local health systems in Philadelphia to provide no-cost breast cancer screening and diagnostic services for those who meet income guidelines.
Komen’s screening and diagnostic program is open to people of all ages and genders.
Covered services include:
- Screening mammograms
- Diagnostic mammograms
- Breast ultrasound
- Breast MRI
- Breast biopsy
According to Cancer.org overall death rates for women diagnosed with breast cancer is about 1:39 (about 2.6 percent). Since 2007, breast cancer death rates have been steady in women younger than 50, but have continued to decrease in older women. From 2013 to 2018, the death rate went down by 1% per year.
After mammography was shown to be an effective breast cancer screening tool in the late 1980s, the use of screening mammography in the U.S. quickly increased, topping out in a 2018 study that found 63 percent of women ages 45 and older in the U.S. reported having a mammogram within the past year (ages 45-54) or past two years (ages 55-74) Mammography rates, however, vary by group researchers say.
In a recent Komen produced Podcast, ‘this is Real Pink” a discussion about how early detection of breast cancer, improves with screening and diagnostics program.
To learn more or to complete an application, contact the Komen Breast Care Helpline at 1-877-465-6636 or helpline@komen.org.
If you do not meet the program’s eligibility criteria, Helpline specialists can help identify other potential resources.
All calls are answered in English and Spanish, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. ET (6 a.m.-7 p.m. PT).