Western North Carolina centers urge, help women to get mammograms

Getting a yearly mammogram was not as common 40 years ago as it is today, but Pat Duncan always made a point of getting one.        Duncan's commitment to screening paid off six years ago, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer after a mammogram discovered a lump in her breast that neither she nor her doctors could feel. After a lumpectomy and radiation treatments, the 82-year-old Black Mountain resident is now cancer-free.

“Anyone that I come into contact with, I ask them: ‘Have you been to get a mammogram this year?'” Duncan said. “I do that on my own because I think you really need to remind them that they need to do it for themselves and their family. I am really convinced that it saved my life.”

The American Cancer Society stands by its screening guidelines, encouraging women 40 and older to get an annual mammogram despite recent news about the risk of overtreatment for some cancers. The group also recommends that women at high risk for breast cancer talk to their doctors about when screenings should begin based on their family history.

“I think a yearly mammogram is a very important tool, because the earlier you find the problem, the more treatable it is,” said Dianne O'Kelley, manager of the breast center at Hope: A Women's Cancer Center. “Women tend to put their families and jobs in front and put themselves in back, but a 15-minute screening tool can save your life.”
Dispelling myths

O'Kelley said more women are now aware of the need to get a yearly mammogram. She said that as more people talk about it and undergo the screening, more women understand the importance of the test, and many of the myths about the exam are dispelled.

One of those myths is a concern over radiation exposure, but a mammogram exposes a woman to less radiation than going out in the sun, and the benefits of the exam outweigh the risk, those who work in the field said. Some women are also concerned it will be painful.

“It's not the most fun thing in the world, but it is certainly worth doing to find something that may save your life,” O'Kelley said.Duncan, who volunteers at the Asheville Breast Center, said the waiting room was packed when she went to get her mammogram two weeks ago. “I was so pleased when I walked in and I saw that many people,” Duncan said. “I just think it is so important. I don't think I'd be here.”Financial help

O'Kelley said she has not seen a decline in the number of women coming in to get their yearly mammogram because of the economy, but she has seen women trying to get the exam before they lose their insurance. Yearly mammograms for women 40 and older are covered by insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.

For women who struggle to find $290 to pay for a mammogram, Hope offers a 10 percent discount for cash payments or can help to set up a payment plan. Asheville Breast Center also offers payment plans.

O'Kelley also refers women to the N.C. Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program at the Buncombe County Health Center, which provides free mammograms and other tests for uninsured women based on certain financial guidelines.

The program has been fielding up to 50 calls a day from women who have lost their jobs or health insurance, and the program expects to see up to 1,600 women this year.

Like other BCCCP programs, Buncombe County has seen its state funding cut, but the program has still been able to provide screenings to women in the county, said Marlene Warren, program administrator. The program is the only one in the county that provides free mammograms to women.

“So far, we've not had to turn anybody away for our services,” she said.

Mammograms offered through the program helped to diagnose 35 women with breast cancer last year. The program also pays for breast cancer treatment for women.

“North Carolina breast cancer mortality rates are not as good as we would like them to be, so early detection is really key,” said Barbara Toth, BCCCP program coordinator.