[Wilmington, DE] — In recognition of October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Planned Parenthood of Delaware (PPDE) and the Philadelphia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® are partnering together to offer free breast exams at all PPDE health centers on October 20, 2009.
“We see firsthand at our health centers that regular checkups save lives,” said Dequilla Hurford, VP for Medical Services of PPDE. “With approximately 16.7 million women uninsured nationwide, it’s critical that women have access to affordable, preventive health care, including cancer screenings.”
Women who do not have health insurance are more likely to postpone care and delay or forgo important preventive care such as cancer screenings, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report. And women below the poverty level are less likely than women with higher incomes to have had a mammogram within the past two years.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month aims to increase public knowledge about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. Nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the United States, and approximately 40,000 women will die from it. Breast cancer screenings, such as breast exams or mammograms, help detect breast cancer in its earliest stages. In 2007, more than 850,000 women were screened for breast cancer at Planned Parenthood health centers across the country.
“In this current economic climate, more and more women find themselves without jobs and benefits… many are having to choose between putting food on the table for their families, or getting the mammogram that could quite possibly save their lives,” said Elaine I. Grobman, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “We are proud to support Planned Parenthood of Delaware in their efforts to empower these women in the fight against this disease and help their children live in the hope of a future free from breast cancer.”
