BLESSING HOSPITAL: Free Mammograms Offered October 17 to Women Who Qualify

By Press release submission

Oct 12, 2018

Blessing Hospital issued the following announcement on Oct. 8.

Women from a five-county area of West-Central Illinois may be eligible to receive a free mammogram on Wednesday, October 17.

To be eligible, women must:

• Live in Adams, Brown, Hancock, Pike or Scott counties in Illinois;

• Be between the ages 40 and 64; and

• Meet the health insurance guidelines. The program can help women who do not have health insurance, have insurance that doesn’t pay for screening services, or have insurance where a deductible must be met before it covers for diagnostic services.

Women who fit those requirements, regardless of their personal income level, may call the Hancock County Health Department, (217) 357-2171, and ask for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program to make a reservation for a free mammogram appointment. Space is limited. Women who register will receive a free mammogram.

The mammograms will be done in the Blessing Breast Center, in Suite 320 of the Blessing Health Center, 927 Broadway. Women will need to bring proof of income, either their last two paycheck stubs or last year’s tax return, and proof of age with them to their appointment.

Statistics show that mammography is the best method of detecting breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage. Mammography can detect breast lumps an average of nearly two years before a woman can feel a lump.

On average, mammography will detect about 90 percent of breast cancers in women without symptoms, and mammography has been shown to reduce death from breast cancer by 20 percent to 39 percent in women age 50 and older.

Each woman meeting the guidelines and scheduling a free mammogram is also eligible to schedule a breast exam with a doctor, and receive a pap smear at a later date at no charge.

Locally, the free mammography program is available year-round and is a partnership between the Hancock County Health Department and the Blessing Breast Center. The State of Illinois’ Breast and Cervical Cancer Program provides the funding for the free mammography program.

Original source can be found here.