PCMH to provide free mammograms, breast health education with Komen grant

TELL CITY – Perry County Memorial Hospital has received two grants totaling $35,570 to continue “Our Turn: A Breast Health Program.”
Since the program began in 1999, the “Our Turn” program has educated more than 10,000 local women about breast health and the importance of early detection strategies, including breast self-examinations, clinical examinations and mammograms. Since 2003, the program has provided more than 800 free screening mammograms to qualified women.
In addition to education, this year’s grants will again make free screening mammograms available – on a first-come, first-served basis – to 110 local women who meet the program’s eligibility requirements.
To be eligible for the program, a woman must be between 40 and 64 years of age; not have had a mammogram for at least one year; be uninsured or underinsured and meet financial guidelines; need a screening mammogram; live or work in Perry or Spencer counties, or Hancock County, Ky.; and be unable to pay privately for a screening mammogram.
Women between the ages of 35 and 40 with a strong family history of breast cancer and who meet the program eligibility criteria will also be eligible to receive a mammogram through the program. There is also limited funding for diagnostic mammograms and ultrasounds for women with suspicious screening mammograms.
This year the “Our Turn” program received $31,520 from the Evansville Tri-State Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. This year marks the 14th year the program has received funding from the local Komen affiliate, bringing the cumulative, 14-year Komen funding amount for the “Our Turn” program to $412,530.
The Komen grant was made possible by proceeds raised primarily by the 2011 Komen Evansville Race for the Cure, along with supporting fundraisers and individual and corporate donations.
Perry County Memorial Hospital’s “Our Turn” program has also received a grant of $4,050 from the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust to provide free screening mammograms to qualified local women. The trust generates funding for its grant program through the sale of breast-cancer-awareness license plates in Indiana. This is the eighth year Perry County Memorial Hospital has received a grant from the trust. Anyone interested in receiving a free mammogram or in learning more about breast cancer and early detection strategies may contact Shelley Poole, registered nurse and the “Our Turn” coordinator, at 547-0392.