October 2, 2003
Contact:
Debi Becker
573/751-522-2845
An official with the Missouri Department
of Health and Senior Services today said the department wants more women to
take advantage of breast and cervical cancer screenings provided through a
grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
For the past eleven years Missouri’s
Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Project (BCCCP) has educated women on the
importance of regular breast and cervical cancer screenings, that the
screenings save lives and that they may be free to those who are most in need. BCCCP has partnered with public health
agencies, private physician offices, hospitals and clinics in 70 Missouri
counties and the city of St. Louis to provide these live-saving cancer
screenings. However, many women are not aware of the program and that they may
qualify to receive free screenings.
“We continue to search for ways to reach
the women who are eligible for BCCCP services,” said Marianne Ronan, Chief of
the Bureau of Cancer Control, which administers the BCCCP funding. “The women who are eligible for BCCCP
services are working women who face many barriers to screening services ranging
from lack of health care facilities to not being able to get time off work for
health care appointments,” adds Ronan.
“BCCCP participants are comprised of the
thousands of Missouri women who support themselves and their families earning
low to average income and with little or no health insurance,” she added. “Many
participants are from minority populations and many live where health care
resources are limited,” Ronan said.
According to Ronan, women qualify for
BCCCP cancer screenings based on three criteria: residency, age and income.
Specific criteria include:
·
Women must currently reside in Missouri.
·
Women must be 50 to 64 years of age to be
eligible for BCCCP screening services, which include a Pap test, pelvic exam,
clinical breast exam and mammogram.
·
Women age 35 to 49 years of age may be
eligible for a pelvic exam, Pap test and clinical breast exam or diagnostic
services for abnormal breast or cervical exams or tests.
·
Women who qualify must have a household
income no more than twice the federal poverty income guideline. That level for BCCCP is $17,960 a year for a
woman living alone and increases by $6,280 for each member of the family.
A major change for BCCCP came in August
2001 when the Medicaid Breast and Cervical Treatment Act (BCCT) was implemented
in Missouri. This legislation, signed
by Governor Holden in July 2001, authorized matching funds for Missouri to
participate in a national program to pay for treatment of breast or cervical
cancer diagnosed from a BCCCP-paid screening or diagnostic service.
“This has been another important barrier
removed for women of low income who receive a cancer diagnosis,” says
Ronan. She added, “All of us who work
for this program, in whatever capacity it may be, know we are making a
difference in the lives of women and their families in Missouri. I urge women who read this to find out if
they qualify for BCCCP services.”
To find out if you qualify, call the
Cancer Information Service, toll free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) or
visit the BCCCP web site: www.dhss.state.mo.us/bcccpweb/welcome.htm.