Cancer Prevention Awareness Month: Breast & Cervical Cancer Spotlight
It's estimated that over 11,000 women in Illinois will be affected by breast cancer this year, and approximately 482 women are newly diagnosed with cervical cancer annually in Illinois. Educational programs offered through local health departments, like the McDonough County Health Department's Breast and Cervical Cancer Spotlight, which is a statewide initiative, can help raise awareness to combat these diseases.
According to Niki Duffy, health department emergency response coordinator and public information officer, the best defense is early detection, including getting an annual mammogram every year beginning at age 40, doing self-breast exams every month beginning at 20 years old and getting a professional breast exam annually over 40 and every three years for women 20-39. The McDonough County Health Department has information and literature on how to conduct a self-breast exam, as well as how to schedule a mammogram and other information. Lifestyle choices such as smoking, excessive alcohol use, obesity, inactivity and longterm use of hormones can contribute to the increased risk of breast cancer.
'As for cervical cancer, all women are at risk,' Duffy added. 'There are no symptoms, so the best defense against cervical cancer is early detection. A pap smear should done annually when a woman first becomes sexually active or is 21 or older, and a pap test is recommended for all women between the ages of 21-65, every three to five years, along with HPV testing in certain instances.'
Things that can increase the risk of cervical cancer include smoking, having HIV, using birth control pills for five or more years, given birth to three or more children or having several sexual partners, she noted. The goal of the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP) is to reduce breast and cervical cancer mortality for Illinois women by providing quality screening and diagnostic services which promote early detection of breast and cervical cancer, Duffy pointed out.
The IBCCP, which is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health, was created in 1995 to provide breast and cervical cancer screening and referrals to uninsured or underinsured women.
A woman is eligible if she lives in Illinois, does not have health insurance, has a high deductible or insurance doesn't cover for diagnostic services, is between the age of 40 and 64 for mammograms and breast exams and between 21 and 64 for pelvic exams and Pap tests, and has a limited income (but not on Medicaid).
'If a woman enrolled in IBCCP is diagnosed with cancer through the program’s screening and tests, she is eligible to receive treatment benefits through the state’s Medicaid system,' Duffy explained.
According to Duffy, the Fulton-McDonough-Schuyler County Breast and Cervical Cancer Consortium is set up so that a client can participate in IBCCP at the McDonough County Health Department and go to a doctor for the services in any of the other counties.
For more information about the program or to determine eligibility, call the McDonough County Health Department at (309) 8379951, ext 2200.
