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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.– The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund has awarded Forsyth Medical Center Foundation a one-year $32,000 grant for Forsyth Medical Center Imaging – The Breast Clinic to expand services and increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer.  The Forsyth Medical Center Foundation was one of five first-time grantees across the country to receive funding.

The Breast Clinic will hire a part-time bilingual health educator and outreach coordinator to provide culturally appropriate, tailored services at no cost to improve the health and health outcomes of medically underserved women. 

“Underserved populations such as Hispanic women are less likely to seek breast cancer education and screenings that could save their lives, often due to lack of awareness about the disease and the importance of early detection,” says Kim Cannon, manager at The Breast Clinic. “The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund grant will allow us to expand our efforts in increasing access to education and comprehensive screening services for Hispanic women in our community.”

According to Cannon, Hispanic women’s breast cancer rate is lower than that of other ethnic groups, but they are 20 percent more likely than Caucasian women to die of breast cancer because it is often caught at a later stage. Many Hispanic women fail to receive regular breast screenings for a wide range of reasons. These can include lack of health insurance, lack of transportation to facilities that provide screenings, and language or cultural barriers that result in stigma about discussing breast health and performing monthly self-exams.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in North Carolina, with 6,300 diagnoses and 1,300 deaths in 2008.

“The good news about breast cancer is that it has a very high survival rate—almost 98 percent—when caught in its earliest stages,” Cannon says. “By expanding our reach in the Hispanic community, which is one of the fastest-growing communities in ForsythCounty, we have a better chance of catching breast cancer in an early, treatable stage, significantly increasing chances of survival.”

The Breast Clinic was founded in 1975 by the late T.W. Littlejohn, M.D., a pioneer in women’s health.  Dr. Littlejohn and his associates were among the first to urge women to get regular mammograms as early detection for breast cancer.  With the advancement of treatment options and rising survival rates from early detection, The Breast Clinic has never waned in its commitment to screening as the most important first step toward saving lives.  As the sole provider of mobile mammography services in the region, The Breast Clinic has a unique capability to better reach medically underserved women where they live, work and worship. 

The Derrick L. Davis Forsyth Regional Cancer Center at ForsythMedical Center is one of the largest community-based cancer centers in the state, diagnosing more than 3,000 new cancer cases each year. Recently accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program of the American College of Surgeons, the CancerCenteris committed to outstanding breast cancer care and clinical excellence.

Since 1993, the Avon Foundation for Women has awarded more than 1,300 grants to community-based breast health programs across the United States, including the Women’s Health Program at the Anderson Free Clinic. These programs are dedicated to educating underserved women about breast cancer and linking them to early detection screening services.

The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund is administered by Cicatelli Associates Inc. to support community-based, non-profit breast health programs across the country.   For more information about The Breast Clinic’s screening programs, please call Hazel Talton at 336-397-6017.  To learn more about the Avon Foundation for Women, call 1-866-505-AVON or visit www.avonfoundation.org, where you can also access the free printable Breast Health Resource Guide in English and Spanish.  For information or to register or support the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events, visit www.avonwalk.orgor call 1-888-540-WALK.