Cancer screening: Funds to help state expand tests for uninsured women

By CZERNE M. REID - czreid@thestate.com

Nine thousand S.C. women who have little or no health insurance will get screened for breast and cervical cancer over the next year, thanks to a $2 million award from the state legislature.

The money is for a statewide screening program called the Best Chance Network, which provides screening, education and links to medical care.

“We reached out to our lawmakers and they responded in a big way,” said Mary Lynn Faunda Donovan, director of the Upstate chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a cancer survivor advocacy foundation that lobbied for the money.

This is the first time the state has contributed to the program, which has subsisted on funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since its inception in 1991.

The funding received broad support in the legislature in a tight year. State Rep. Cathy Harvin, D-Clarendon, who also is a cancer survivor, said it signals hope for those who fight against cancer and work toward a cure.

State Sen. Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, urged advocates and program administrators to do their best to make sure women know about the help that is now available to them.

Starting in September, women who are 40 to 64 can get screened. Previously only those 47 and older could take part in the program. The American Cancer Society recommends that women 40 and older be screened for breast cancer every year.

More than 190,000 people have been screened since the program started in 1991, including more than 8,000 last year. The new money more than doubles the number that can be screened in the next year.

The American Cancer Society estimates that this year, almost 27,00 South Carolinians will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 600 will die of the disease.

“The numbers are important, but the issue is about people,” said Dr. Lisa Waddell, deputy health commissioner at DHEC.

Diane Michelle Williams is grateful that now that program’s age limit has been lowered, she can get screened.

The 46-year-old single mother and domestic violence survivor said although she works for a living, she cannot afford health insurance. She has made an effort to learn about cancer, but still can’t take necessary steps to protect herself.

“Education is important, but if I can’t afford the screening, what good is education?” she said.

The Best Chance Network, a partnership between government agencies and private organizations, is now in a better position to help women like Williams.

The money is a one-time award, but advocates pledge to keep fighting for more.

“Cancer is not a one-year threat,” Donovan said.

Reach Reid at (803) 771-8378.