Bamberg County Breast Cancer Project
Project Director: Beulah Hand, RN $11,075.00
The funding for this project will be used for activities to increase breast cancer awareness and early detection. These activities will include health fairs, an educational luncheon, Mother’s Day and Christmas cards, Pink Ribbon event and continuing “Train the Trainer” events through Best Chance Special Touch and Low Country Area Health Center’s Low Country Breast Health Project. This year training will be held for hairdressers as they can increase awareness among their clientele. Self breast examination will be expanded to Bamberg School District II.
Lowcountry Breast Health Project
Project Director: Diane Kennedy, MS
$22,115.00
The Lowcountry Breast Health Project is a collaboration of the Lowcountry Area Health Education Center, The Caring Hands Health Ministry of Hampton Regional Hospital, and local churches in Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton and Hampton counties. This community-based program’s goal is to increase breast health awareness, knowledge and skills about breast cancer and early detection to predominately African American women in these counties. The program achieves this aim through “Train the Trainer” sessions of local peer educators. These educators are given all of the tools needed to take this program out into their local churches, hair salons or neighborhood settings. In addition, it is known that women are more likely to practice early detection if their primary health care provider encourages them to do so. Another key component of this project is to hold community-based primary care provider education sessions on breast cancer, early detection and treatment.
Prescription Drug Support Care Program at the Hollings Cancer Center
Project Director: Janet Bloch, MS, ANP, OCN
$45,000
The July 2000 Community Profile report for the Komen Charleston Race for the Cure® identified and prioritized the need to address gaps in the care of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, but who lack insurance to cover the costs associated with its treatment. The Hollings Cancer Center is no longer able to subsidize the best out-patient medications for disease treatment and/or pain and symptom management for many of these uninsured or underinsured patients. Consequently, many are unable to afford the medications they need and are going untreated or are having to settle for less effective medicines. This grant would enable the pharmacy at the Hollings Cancer Center to provide the uninsured or underinsured patient with these “state of the art” medications so that she/he would again be able to receive optimal treatment and symptom management. Lack of ability to pay will no longer be a prescription for inadequate treatment or needless suffering.
Next Step
Project Director: Nina Ellison, FNP
$65,000
St. George Medical Center, a prevention based practice, is a satellite office of the Orangeburg Family Health Center. This rural family practice serves women in both Dorchester and Colleton counties, this year following over 350 women for complete breast exams. Within the population served by this office, a key concern has been the crisis of indigent and underinsured women aged 40-49 obtaining follow-up surgical consultations and needle biopsies when screening and diagnostic evaluations indicate such a need. Various programs are currently in place to cover the cost of the initial mammogram (Beautiful Women program) and also to cover up to $750 towards the cost of follow-up diagnostic tests (CancerCare by Avon). However, if surgical consultation or biopsy is warrant to complete the evaluation, there is a gap in assistance. The goal of Next Step is to provide the funds towards the cost of surgical consultation and needle biopsies.
Allendale Breast Health Program
Project Director: G. Lari Gooding, Practice Administrator $14,274.84
The Allendale Breast Health Program is a project of the Low Country Health Care System, which is located in Fairfax, SC. The purpose of this project is to increase the accessibility, availability and affordability of breast exams and mammograms for the region’s uninsured/underinsured women. Special emphasis is being placed on attracting minority women between the ages of 35 and 50 who work or lack transportation during the day. Historically, these groups have not followed the breast health guidelines. In order to accomplish this goal, the program will operate on extended evening hours at the Low Country Health Care Center one day per month and will notify the targeted women in the community through culturally appropriate brochures and radio-newspaper advertising. This project is expected to impact over 1200 women in this medically underserved region of SC.
Giving It Up Makes A Difference
Project Director: Joyce Hudson, Outreach Coordinator
$25,000
Giving It Up Makes A Difference is a grass roots community based volunteer group which has more than 400 members and is a part of the Georgetown County Best Chance Network Task Force. The goal of the task force is to reach and educate women between the ages of 18 and 80 about breast cancer early detection guidelines, train women how to perform breast self examination and refer women to local and regional community resources for mammography and treatment. This is to be accomplished through community based training sessions and distribution of Mother’s Day cards. Culturally, appropriate messages about breast health are delivered in local churches and community centers. The messages are delivered through health care professionals, survivor’s testimonies and gospel music and dance.
Women’s Ministry Wellness Retreat Breast Health Education Project
Project Director: Elvan Daniels, MD
$40,000
The purpose of this project is to improve breast cancer prevention awareness and practices among low income, urban African American women in Charleston County. Culturally sensitive “Wellness Retreats” will be conducted in area churches at monthly women’s ministry meetings. These retreats will provide education on breast cancer prevention through screening and health lifestyle practices. In addition, lay health advisors will be trained to provide on-going counseling, resource information and to develop a tracking system to ensure that women in their churches are up to date with mammograms and consistent with breast self exams.
Mama and Me
Project Director: Deborah Williamson, MSN $55,000
This project is designed to improve early detection and treatment of breast cancer in rural, low-income women living in northern Charleston County and southern Georgetown County. The program contains three distinct elements: a public awareness campaign utilizing female support within families as a theme, funding breast screening for women who fall between the cracks of existing funding mechanisms and educating legislators about breast cancer facts and limited resources for screening and diagnostic services. Collaboration among existing community resources will be developed to facilitate the success of the project.
Total Amount Granted: $277,464.84
