PLANNED PARENTHOOD ENCOURAGES WOMEN TO GET BREAST EXAMS TO HELP DETECT EARLY-STAGE CANCER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ana Sandoval, PPAC Communications, 916.446.5247

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ENCOURAGES WOMEN TO GET BREAST EXAMS TO HELP DETECT EARLY-STAGE CANCER

October Is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In recognition of October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) encourages women to make breast exams a priority this and every month.

"We see firsthand at our health centers that regular checkups save lives," said PPAC President Kathy Kneer. "With approximately 16.7 million women uninsured nationwide, it's critical that women have access to affordable, preventive health care, including cancer screenings."

Women across the country struggle to afford basic, preventive health care. Like Estela Aguilar, a 28-year-old mother in Los Angeles, they rely on trusted safety net health care providers like Planned Parenthood for essential care. During a visit to Planned Parenthood, a lump was discovered in Estela's breast and she was referred to a hospital for a mammogram. Fortunately, the growth was benign. Like many other women, Estela credits a routine checkup with helping her take control of her health. Estela now knows how to give herself a breast exam and where to go if she finds another lump.

Women who don't have health insurance, like Estela, are more likely to postpone care and delay or forgo important preventive care such as cancer screenings, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report. In addition, women below the federal poverty level are less likely than women with higher incomes to have had a mammogram within the past two years.

Planned Parenthood health centers in California offer affordable, preventive health care, including routine breast exams. In 2006, more than 150,000 women were screened for breast cancer at Planned Parenthood health centers in California and in 2007 a total of 850,000 women were screened nationwide.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month aims to increase public knowledge about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. Nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the United States, and about 40,000 women will die from it. Breast cancer screenings help detect breast cancer in its earliest stages.

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Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California (PPAC) is the state public policy office representing California's nine separately incorporated Planned Parenthood affiliates. Through advocacy and electoral action, PPAC promotes sound public policy in areas of reproductive health care, family planning and comprehensive sex education.