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Illinois Updates

 

The Governor Expands The Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program 

With cancer survivors, advocates, and even with our very own Jude Andrews of Y-ME Illinois by his side, Governor Blagojevich announced last week that he is expanding the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP) to cover all uninsured women within the age group served, removing the previous income requirement that excluded many women who could not afford services. The program will now provide over 260,000 women with life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings, and make available treatment services if women are diagnosed with cancer.  Executive Director Jude Andrews traveled with the Governor and other breast cancer advocates around Illinois last Thursday to help kick-off the expansion.  “This program will help relieve worry from women who don’t receive regular mammograms for fear of cost,” said Jude. “Now all women in Illinois can take care of themselves with greater freedom and ease.”  Illinois is leading the way as the first state in the nation to make breast and cervical cancer treatment available to all women.

The expansion will cover:

• Free breast cancer screenings (clinical breast exams and mammograms) for all uninsured women between the ages of 40 and 64, regardless of income
• Free cervical cancer screenings (Pap tests, pelvic exams) for all uninsured women between the ages of 35-64, regardless of income
• Free screenings for younger women with symptoms on a case by case basis

To enroll in the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, call the Women’s Health Line at 1-888-522-1282 to find the lead agency closest to you.

 

 

It is our job as advocates to ensure that women can access to care!  Let Y-ME Illinois Advocacy know of any ideas you have to help the Office of Women's Health get the word out about the program expansion!

 

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Research News:

 

NIH awards $23 million to Medical Center for translational research

 

The National Institutes of Health has awarded one of 12 Clinical and Translational Science Awards for 2007 to a team based at the University Medical Center. These awards, together with 12 CTSAs awarded in 2006, form the core of an NIH effort to build a national consortium of select centers that will “transform how clinical and translational research is conducted,” ultimately enabling researchers to provide new and better treatments more efficiently and quickly to patients. Read more

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Legislative Update:

 

Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program

 

The Senate passed their Defense Appropriations bill that includes $150 million for the Breast Cancer Research Program for fiscal year 2008.  The House bill appropriated $127.5 million for the program.  Conferees have yet to meet where they will decided on the final amount for the BCRP for FY 08.

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2008 Presidential Election and Breast Cancer

 

Interested to know what the candidates thoughts are on breast cancer? The National Breast Cancer Coalition has gathered videos from the candidates and how they would eradicate breast cancer and letters responding to NBCC's core values. You can vote on which candidate you feel has the best plan! Go to BreastCancerCaucus.org

Election 2008 | Presidential Candidates Discuss Health Care During Campaign Stops
[Oct 01, 2007]

Summaries of several recent developments in the presidential campaign related to health care: click here 

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In The News:

 

Many U.S. Women Misinformed About Breast Cancer, NBCC Survey Finds

[Oct 02, 2007]

 

Although most U.S. women consider themselves to be knowledgeable about breast cancer, many have inaccurate information, according to a survey released Monday by the National Breast Cancer Coalition, the Chicago Tribune reports. According to the survey, many women still believe that most breast cancer cases are caused by genetic mutations; however, only 5% to 10% of cases are genetic. In addition, the survey found that about two-thirds of women ages 18 to 24 believe breast cancer can be prevented. A woman's risk for the disease can be reduced by avoiding alcohol or taking hormone replacement therapy, but it cannot be eliminated, according to the Tribune. The survey also found that 70% of women believe eating enough fruits and vegetables will help prevent breast cancer, but there is scant scientific evidence to support the theory. Read more

 

Kaiser Permanente Study Shows Alcohol Consumption – No Matter Beverage Type – Linked to Breast Cancer Risk September 27th, 2007

One of the largest individual studies of the effects of alcohol on the risk of breast cancer shows that it makes no difference whether a woman drinks wine, beer or spirits (liquor). It is the alcohol itself (ethyl alcohol) and the quantity consumed that increases breast cancer risk. In fact, the increased breast cancer risk from drinking three or more alcoholic drinks a day is similar to the increased breast cancer risk from smoking a packet of cigarettes or more a day, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers Yan Li, MD, PhD and Arthur Klatsky, MD.

The study found there was no difference between wine, beer or spirits in the risk of developing breast cancer. Even when wine was divided into red and white, there was no difference. However, when researchers looked at the relationship between breast cancer risk and total alcohol intake, they found that women who drank between one and two alcoholic drinks per day increased their risk of breast cancer by 10 percent compared with light drinkers who drank less than one drink a day. The risk of breast cancer increased by 30 percent in women who drank more than three drinks a day.

 

Roche's Herceptin Combined With Chemotherapy More Effective in Eliminating Breast Cancer Tumors Than Chemotherapy Alone

[Sep 28, 2007]

 

Roche's breast cancer drug Herceptin when used together with chemotherapy is three times more effective in eradicating tumors in women with inflammatory breast cancer than chemotherapy alone, according to a study presented by the company on Wednesday at the European Cancer Organization's conference in Barcelona, Spain, Reuters reports (Reuters, 9/26). FDA in 1998 approved Herceptin for treatment of advanced HER2-positive cancer that has spread beyond the breast. The aggressive form of the disease is found in about 25% to 30% of breast cancer patients and involves extra copies of the HER2 protein, the Wall Street Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 9/27). Read more

 

American Cancer Society Report Finds Breast Cancer Death Rate Continues To Drop

September26^th, 2007

 

 

Science Daily— A report from the American Cancer Society finds the breast cancer death rate in the United States continues to drop more than two percent per year, a trend that began in 1990 and is credited to progress in early detection and treatment. But the report says African American women and women of other racial and ethnic groups have benefited less than white women from the advances that have led to those gains, and that a recent drop in cancer incidence (the rate at which news cancers are diagnosed) is due in part to fewer women getting mammograms. Read more

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Health Care Updates:

 

U.S. Has Higher Rates of Chronic Diseases Among People 50 and Older Than European Nations, Study Finds [Oct 02, 2007]

 

 

Policy Brief Examines Causes, Prevalence of Racial, Ethnic Health Disparities [Oct 02, 2007]

 

 

 

AstraZeneca Launches New Program to Support Facilities that Connect People to Needed Medical Care and Prescription Assistance

AstraZeneca launched a new program today to provide medicines free of charge to community free clinics, community health centers and hospitals that serve the uninsured. The AZ&Me™ Prescription Savings program for healthcare facilities is planning to provide free AstraZeneca medicines to hundreds of thousands of patients at approximately 150 facilities by the end of 2008.

To learn if your organization could qualify for the AZ&MeÔ Prescription Savings program for healthcare facilities, please call 1-866-325-8198. Program specialists are available Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM EST.

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