Doors Reopen to State’s Breast Cancer Screening Program

American Cancer Society Encourages Women to Apply

SACRAMENTO – December 1, 2010 – The California Department of Public Health has reopened enrollment to breast cancer screening in the Every Woman Counts program, which screens low-income women for breast and cervical cancers. The program had not been accepting new enrollments since January 1, 2010. It had also limited eligibility to women aged 50 and over and had limited women to one mammogram every two years. With the reopening, the program will once again be available to women starting at age 40 and will cover an annual mammogram. These changes align with the American Cancer Society screening guidelines.

The following is a statement from Alecia Sanchez, American Cancer Society, California Division’s Director of State Legislative Advocacy:

“The American Cancer Society is relieved that tens of thousands of women will once again have access to lifesaving breast cancer screening through the Every Woman Counts program. We spent the last year advocating for the reopening of enrollment and to ensure that the program’s services aligned with our screening guidelines because mammograms save lives. We are thrilled that the Legislature appropriated the money to allow the program to both re-open and incorporate best practices. We hope the last year, when new enrollments were curtailed and eligibility was limited, is a blip in the program’s history that will not be repeated. In the meantime, we celebrate the reopening of enrollment and we encourage women who have not been able to receive their annual mammogram because of lack of insurance coverage and who think they meet the income eligibility to apply for screening under the reinvigorated Every Woman Counts program.”



Here is a link to the CDPH statement: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR10-096.aspx

Beckie Moore Flati | Marketing Communication Director
Border Sierra Region, California | American Cancer Society, Inc.
Inland Empire Office, 6355 Riverside Ave., Riverside, CA 92506 | cancer.org
714.779.8104 | mobile: 714.697.8666