PARTNERS FOR BREAST CANCER CAREINC

PARTNERS FOR BREAST CANCER CARE, INC. IS A ONE-OF-A-KIND COMMUNITY-BASED NON-PROFIT AND THE ONLY ORGANIZATION PROVIDING FUNDING FOR NO-COST BREAST SCREENING, DIAGNOSTIC TESTING, SURGERY AND TREATMENT TO LOW-INCOME, UNINSURED RESIDENTS OF SWFL OF ALL AGES. WE HAVE BEEN SERVING LEE COUNTY FOR 33 YEARS. WE EXPANDED OUR SERVICES TO COLLIER, HENDRY, GLADES AND CHARLOTTE COUNTY. WE FUND BREAST CARE PROCEDURES SUCH AS MAMMOGRAM, BREAST ULTRASOUND, NEEDLE BIOPSY, WIRE LOCALIZATION, CYST ASPIRATION, BREAST MRI, DUCTOGRAM, SURGICAL CONSULTATION, SURGICAL BIOPSY, LUMPECTOMY, MASTECTOMY, RADIATION AND CHEMOTHERAPY AT NO COST TO OUR CLIENT. OUR FOCUS IS TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE FOR UNDERSERVED RESIDENTS IN SWFL. MANY WOMEN IGNORE THE NEED TO HAVE A MAMMOGRAM OR TO RECEIVE FURTHER TESTING BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS. OUR CLIENTS BENEFIT BY REDUCING THEIR SUFFERING FROM BREAST CANCER AND WE ARE SAVING LIVES. WE COLLABORATE WITH LEE HEALTH, ADVANCED RADIOLOGY IMAGING ASSOCIATES, FLORIDA CANCER SPECIALISTS, ASSOCIATES IN GENERAL AND VASCULAR SURGERY, NORTH NAPLES SURGICAL CENTER, SOUTH FLORIDA SURGICAL ONCOLOLGY, PROSCAN RADIOLOGY, PRECISION HEALTH CARE, PARADISE COAST BREAST SPECIALISTS, AND ADVOCATE RADIATION, WHO PROVIDE BREAST CARE PROCEDURES AT REDUCED NEGOTIATED FEES AND AT NO COST TO OUR CLIENT. THROUGH OUR COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS WITH OVER 100 PARTNERS IN HEALTH (SURGEONS, ANESTHESIOLOGISTS, PATHOLOGISTS, RADIOLOGISTS, ONCOLOGISTS) WE CONTINUE OUR GOAL TO RULE OUT OR DIAGNOSE BREAST CANCER FOR WOMEN WHO OTHERWISE HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO TURN. BECAUSE WE HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL HISPANIC POPULATION AND A FAIR NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN, WE WANT TO INTENSIFY OUR EFFORTS TO REACH OUT INTO THE COMMUNITIES TO INCREASE MAMMOGRAM UTILIZATION AMONG AT-RISK POPULATIONS. STUDIES HAVE PROVEN THAT THESE WOMEN IN PARTICULAR DO NOT FIND BREAST CANCERS IN THE EARLY STAGES BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO AFFORD BREAST HEALTH CARE AND MAMMOGRAMS. THE LIKELIHOOD OF THEIR SURVIVAL IS LESS. AMONG HISPANIC WOMEN NOT ONLY ARE THERE ECONOMIC REASONS WHY THEY DO NOT HAVE MAMMOGRAMS, BUT THERE ARE ALSO CULTURAL ISSUES TO BE OVERCOME. THE US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES REPORTS THAT TWICE AS MANY AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN DIE OF BREAST CANCER AS WHITE WOMEN BECAUSE OF LATE DIAGNOSIS. DURING OUR 2023-2024 FISCAL YEAR, WE SERVED 489 UNINSURED, LOW-INCOME WOMEN AND MEN AT NO COST TO THEM. WE FUNDED 863 BREAST CARE PROCEDURES AT AN EXPENDITURE OF 133,496. OUR PARTNER IN HEALTH DONATED 4,520,841 IN BREAST HEALTH CARE FOR OUR CLIENTS. OF THESE, 14 WOMEN WERE DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER THROUGH OUR EFFORTS. SINCE FISCAL YEAR 2004, WE HAVE SCREENED OVER 20,000 RESIDENTS SEEKING BREAST CARE. OF THOSE, 13,402 SWFL RESIDENTS RECEIVED BREAST CARE SERVICES AND WE FUNDED 20,998 BREAST CARE PROCEDURES AT AN EXPENDITURE OF 2,585,811. OF THOSE HELPED, 255 HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED THROUGH OUR EFFORTS. MANY OF OUR CLIENTS MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN FEEDING THEIR FAMILIES AND GETTING BREAST HEALTH CARE. DUE TO THE NEED OF OUR NO-COST BREAST CARE, WE CONTINUE TO SEEK WOMEN IN THE MOST "AT RISK" COMMUNITIES OFFERING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE OUR SERVICES THROUGH OUR BREAST HEALTH CARAVAN INITIATIVE WHICH BEGAN IN 2012. OUR BREAST HEALTH CARAVAN PROJECT FEATURES COLLABORATATIONS WITH LOCAL VOLUNTEER PHYSICIANS, LOCAL FACILITIES, A BREAST HEALTH NAVIGATOR AND THE UNITED WAY. THIS PROJECT HAS SUCCESSFULLY BROUGHT BREAST CARE TO THESE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN LEE, HENDRY AND COLLIER COUNTY. EACH ATTENDEE RECEIVES A BREAST EXAMINATION BY A VOLUNTEER PHYSICIAN, ONE-ON-ONE BREAST HEALTH EDUCATION AND A SCREENING OR DIAGNOSTIC 3-D MAMMOGRAM AT NO COST. OUR CASE MANAGER FOLLOWS UP WITH EACH CLIENT WHEN FURTHER BREAST CARE IS RECOMMENDED. SINCE 2012, WE HAVE HELPED 424 WOMEN AND OF THOSE, 4 WERE DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER THROUGH THE BREAST HEALTH CARAVAN PROJECT. THIS PROJECT IS IN ADDITION TO OUR REGULAR NO-COST BREAST CARE PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE OFFERED FOR 34 YEARS.