October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to reflect upon how many of our lives have been touched by this all-too widespread disease. The American Cancer Society estimates that 230,480 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, and that approximately 40,000 women will die from breast cancer this year alone. Currently there are approximately 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the U.S. While there have been improvements in mortality rates in recent years, disparities among populations continue to exist. Some of these disparities are believed to be related to genetics and/or lifestyle, while others are driven by lack of access to information and resources. Women living in poverty and with low-wage jobs which offer no access to insurance are particularly at risk for delaying screenings.

St. Anthony Medical Clinic currently provides primary care to approximately 1,663 women, including annual clinical breast exams and breast health teaching. In June 2011 SAMC received a generous grant from the Susan G. Komen Foundation to support the SAMC Breast Health Program, an expansion of the education and outreach services already provided by the Clinic. Funding from the Komen Foundation will help us reduce barriers to access to screening and treatment for uninsured women in San Francisco, while also reducing the cultural and linguistic barriers which make accessing breast health resources that much more daunting for immigrant women. With this funding we launched quarterly Women’s Health Days in June to provide education and outreach to our regular patients and to other women from the community to learn about breast health, receive clinical screenings and get their annual mammogram. The Komen Foundation funding has further allowed the Clinic to function as a coordinator and facilitator of services and follow-up for low-income, uninsured women with San Francisco General Hospital through the MammoMobile, which will visit the Clinic monthly, and through SF General Diagnostic Mammography.

On September 25^th, the SAMC was present at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Expo on the Embarcadero. Clinic director Dr. Ana Valdes is pictured at the expo to the left, and behind her is Michelle Loya-Talamantes, Community Health Programs Director at the Susan G. Komen Foundation.