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Greater NYC Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Ryan Community Health Centers, Breast Cancer Survivors and Advocates Call on Elected Officials to Expand New York's Breast Cancer Screening, Treatment Programs

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 January 2008, 06:00 CST

NEW YORK, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure joined with breast cancer survivors, the Ryan Community Health Centers, and public health advocates to call on New York State lawmakers to expand the reach of breast cancer screening and treatment programs. Komen Greater New York City also released a report, "Through the Wrong Door," [http://www.komennyc.org]/ describing the gaps in New York's public health policies that make breast cancer deadlier for low-income, uninsured and minority women.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070122/NYM084LOGO)

"Early detection of breast cancer is key to survival, and New York State's Cancer Services Program serves women who would not otherwise be screened and treated -- saving an untold number of lives," said Mary Haviland, Director of Grants and Public Policy for Komen Greater New York City. "New York has been a leader in addressing breast cancer by providing screening to un- and underinsured women since 1988, but this program needs to serve many more eligible women, not just the 20 percent currently served."

This event, which took place at the Ryan-NENA Community Health Center, a Komen grantee and part of the Cancer Services Partnership, marked the 17th stop of the Komen Community Challenge, a 25-city campaign to elevate breast cancer on the national agenda and to draw attention to disparities in breast cancer mortality. Many Americans -- racial and ethnic minorities, low-income women and those with little or no health insurance -- are less likely to receive quality cancer care and are more likely to die from the disease.

"When it comes to breast cancer prevention for women minorities, women with low incomes, and those who are uninsured or underinsured, the disparities are absolutely appalling," said Kathy Gruber, Executive Director of the Ryan-NENA Community Health Center and herself a breast cancer survivor. "At the Ryan Centers, we do our best to ensure that these breast health services are available. But much more needs to be done. We are proud to join with Komen for the Cure in calling on those in City Hall, in Albany and on Capitol Hill to bring vital breast cancer screening and treatment to the communities where they are needed most."

In 2007, more than 12,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in New York State and over 2,500 died from the disease. New York State has the tenth highest rate of breast cancer mortality in the United States including Washington DC and territories. In New York, White women have a higher rate of incidence of breast cancer than Black women, yet Black women in New York have a higher mortality rate than White women, reflective of national trends. Similarly, uninsured women are more likely to receive a late-stage breast cancer diagnosis and are 30 to 50 percent more likely to die from the disease than women with insurance.

New York's Cancer Services Program serves women 18 to 64 who are under- or uninsured and meet income eligibility requirements, providing a crucial safety net for women who might otherwise go without care. "Through the Wrong Door" has two specific recommendations for this vital program:

1. Allow all eligible uninsured women access to the Medicaid Cancer Treatment Program (MCTP) for breast and cervical cancer treatment, regardless of where they are initially screened. The program presently allows only women who were screened through the partnership program to access this treatment program.

2. Create a Public/Private Governor's Task Force to increase utilization of the New York State Cancer Services Program. The Task Force will be mandated to create a plan with goals to screen 100 percent of eligible uninsured women within four years. Without a cure for breast cancer, early detection remains the most important means of survival.

"I would not be alive today if it were not for the Cancer Services Program at NY Columbia-Presbyterian," said Theresa Racine, breast cancer survivor and Harlem resident. "Many Black and Latina women don't get tested due to lack of health insurance or fear. I want to let them know that this program can help you survive. All eligible women should be able to have access to this program. Breast cancer shouldn't be a death sentence for any New York woman."

The Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure

The Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure was founded in 1990 and has raised nearly $40 million to date. The organization is unique, disbursing up to 75 percent of its net income to local programs in the five boroughs of New York City, on Long Island and in Westchester and Rockland Counties. In 2007, Komen Greater NYC awarded close to $3.2 million in grants -- $2 million to support 34 community-based organizations that provide breast health programs to underserved women, nearly $250,000 will increase capacity of local researchers to enroll women in breast cancer trials and help fund local breast cancer conference and education programs, and close to $1 million for national peer-reviewed research. For more information, please visit http://www.komennyc.org/.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, we have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit http://www.komen.org/ or call 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636).

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070122/NYM084LOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

CONTACT: Dan Klotz, +1-917-438-4613, cell, +1-347-307-2866,dklotz@mrss.com, for Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Web site: http://www.komen.org/http://www.komennyc.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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