Monday, June 10, 2013

Finding Free or Low-Cost Breast Cancer Screenings

I've trained all my friends, co-workers, loved ones and mild acquaintances to notify me as soon as they find out about anything free.  So co-worker Joyce found this nugget: Circle of Friends, a group concerned with educating African-American women on breast cancer, got a grant to fund free mammograms for uninsured women over 40 years old in the Toledo area.  Eligible women need only to register in advance with COF for the first upcoming screening date, scheduled for Friday, June 28th, at the the University of Toledo Medical Center. Call 419-386-8831 for a reservation.

Free mammograms are also available for women with no insurance, and who are eligible for no other sources, from the Margaret Lamb Guyton Stout Fund at Toledo Hospital.  Call 419-291-7000 to set up an appointment. 

And what if you're not from Toledo?  Here's a couple of choices: The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) provides breast and cervical cancer early detection testing to women without health insurance for free or at very little cost. To learn more about this program, please contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at 1-800-CDC INFO (1-800-232-4636) or visit their Web site.  However, it's not a slam dunk.  It has a state contact, but Ohio's list of providers has dead links.  You can also call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 and ask for a list of local free or low-cost providers.  You can also find a local affliliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and ask if they perform them in your community, or know of an organization that does.  In northwest Ohio, here's the list of local testing organizations and events.  Or call your local county health department and see if they have a list of providers. Or try the local affiliate of Planned Parenthood--proivded they haven't been defunded in your state.

No comments: