The Breast Cancer Relief Foundation believes that lack of insurance, inadequate coverage, or financial hardship should not prevent a woman from access to a mammogram. With one out of eight women developing breast cancer in their lifetime, medical professionals continue to emphasize early detection as one of the most critical factors in successfully treating this disease. In fact, when diagnosed early and treated, the survival rate is well over 90%. We believe that all women should have the opportunity to conquer breast cancer, and mammogram screenings offer the best method available to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages.

TBCRF is committed to helping increase access to mammograms for women in need, and through our Mammogram Access Program we provide funding to hospitals and medical institutions across the United States so that at-risk women can receive mammography screenings, breast health education, and additional medical guidance they require. Through this program, we also help support a number of mobile mammogram vans that travel great distances to ensure that women in very rural areas as well as those in the inner-city have the opportunity in a very unintimidating environment to be screened for and educated about breast cancer. Our goal is to provide funds to appropriate institutions in each state and increase the number of sites in the current funded states.

To date, the program has provided over $900,000 to major medical centers in the United States. We are striving to grow this program and dispense significant additional funds in 2012.

Here are a few of our Support Recipients:

The Fox Chase Cancer Center

TBCRF has provided critical support to Fox Chase’s Mobile Mammography program to provide mammograms to under and uninsured African American, Latina/Hispanic and Asian women in the communities that surround Fox Chase.  This support has also opened the doors to these women to receive diagnostic and follow-up care at FoxChase as needed.

Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Lihue, Hawaii
TBCRF was pleased to partner with Wilcox Memorial Hospital to provide direct mammogram screening services to underserved women in the area of Lihue, Hawaii. The target population included women from diverse ethnic cultures that are uninsured or underinsured.

Women’s Way, First District Health Unit, Minot, North Dakota

TBCRF provided support to Women’s Way in Minot, North Dakota. These funds were designated for providing mammograms to the underserved women in their seven county service area located in north central North Dakota.

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center/The Johns Hopkins University
TBCRF has supported the Baltimore City Breast Care Initiative Program at Johns Hopkins within the Cancer Disparities Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. This program provided breast cancer education and outreach, screening and patient navigation to uninsured, underinsured and other low-income Baltimore City residents.

The Rex Hospital Foundation
TBCRF provided financial assistance to the Rex Hospital Foundation to support the Rex Mobile Mammography Certificate Program. This program provided free screening and/or diagnostic mammograms and ultrasound tests to women who are without insurance or have a financial need. Rex serves women from Wake and surrounding counties through their Mobile Mammography Unit.

Siteman Cancer Center/Barnes Jewish Hospital
TBCRF has supported the Siteman Cancer Center/Barnes Jewish Hospital in its efforts to provide breast screenings and follow-up care to women the Bootheel region of Southeast Missouri. The women in this region have extremely limited resources and depend upon the visits from this mobile mammography unit for breast screenings.

Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI)
TBCRF was pleased to assist with Mammograms in May, conducted on the mobile Hope Coach, which is a program of the Nevada Cancer Institute. This program provided mammograms to uninsured and underinsured women over the age of 40 who do not have health insurance for mammograms and reside in southern Nevada. Prior to the scheduled mammogram screening event, a specially-trained breast health educator from NVCI provided educational sessions.

The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
TBCRF supported the Modular Mammography Program at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, which serves counties in Arkansas that lack FDA approved mammography facilities. This effort focused on the Delta Region providing access to initial digital mammograms and, if necessary, further diagnostic procedures to women who would not otherwise have access to this health service.

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
TBCRF enabled increased breast cancer screening to underserved and uninsured women in the nine county region of greater Tampa Bay, by supporting the Moffitt Cancer Center’s Mobile Lifetime Screening bus. Significant portions in the region are federally designated as Medically Underserved Areas. Poor and uninsured individuals have been more likely to have cancer diagnosed at a later stage and have been more likely to die of cancer. The breast cancer mortality rate in Florida is the third highest in the United States, so the overall goal of this joint program was to reduce morbidity and mortality due to breast cancer among these underserved women.

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

TBCRF and MD Anderson teamed up to provide quality cancer screenings and healthcare to underserved and uninsured women in Texas. The TBCRF program supported the mammograms conducted in the target population in Harris, Ft. Bend, and Brazoria counties via a mobile mammogram unit, while providing educational materials and breast health information sessions. TBCRF’s support increased the number of screenings available to underserved and uninsured women, as well as increase the availability of diagnostic mammography and sonography to those women found to be in need of these follow-up services.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
TBCRF was pleased to partner with the Boston Mammogram Van program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Massachusetts in order to help provide mammogram screening and breast health education to uninsured and underserved women directly in their at-risk neighborhoods. The program focused on helping women by providing services in Boston’s Mattapan, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Dorchester, South End, Roslindale, and Hyde Park neighborhoods. Striving to limit breast cancer morbidity and mortality rates, the partnership was initiated to reduce barriers to breast cancer screening and health care, specifically by supporting mammography films, film storage, and mammograms for countless low-income and uninsured women within the Boston Mammogram Van program.

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
TBCRF supported the mobile digital mammogram van program of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliances, which was a partnership of three internationally renowned research institutions: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center.  Women in the state of Washington have among the highest rates of breast cancer anywhere in the nation. This distressing statistic is especially of concern to underserved and uninsured women in Washington who are not able to access mammograms.  These women are now being supported by TBCRF, which enables them to receive the access they need.

UCLA Medical Center – Santa Monica
TBCRF helped to provide access to inexpensive mammograms at the UCLA Medical Center Hospital. This support is enabled uninsured and underinsured women in the Westside region of Los Angeles to be able to utilize this important diagnostic tool, as well as gain access to important breast cancer prevention and early detection literature.

Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
TBCRF supported a program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (PCI) to provide improved mammogram access to poor and underserved women in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. These women currently have limited access to transportation so that they cannot access their required mammograms examinations.  The grant award allowed these women to be transported to nearest hospital in Meyersdale to gain access to a mammogram.

Cancer Institute of New Jersey
TBCRF supported the Cancer Institute of New Jersey Foundation to fund the unmet needs of their underserved breast cancer patients. The award assisted in providing breast cancer patients in economic crisis who are treated at CINJ to eliminate emergency situations. The TBCRF funding support was used to assess breast cancer patients in need and provide them with funds necessary to address financial barriers to treatment. It also allowed direct financial help, negotiations with insurance providers, translation and interpreter services, individual and family counseling, support groups and transportation assistance.

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center  
TBCRF supported the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center (MBPCC) via its CARE Network Mobile Medical Clinic Breast Cancer Screening Program that has targeted uninsured and underinsured women in 15 parishes of southeast Louisiana, providing free mammograms and making it logistically easier these women in rural and underserved locations to be screened.  With TBCRF’s support, these screenings have been offered at locations and times convenient for the working poor, the underinsured, or uninsured, such as evening and weekends.