This MedlinePlus article describes some of the barriers to getting mammograms that low-income women face.
The Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program (MBCHP) is a comprehensive breast and cervical cancer early detection program housed within Maine CDC’s Division of Chronic Disease. Early detection continues to be the best way to combat breast and cervical cancer. The program’s mission is to help low-income, uninsured and underinsured women gain access to breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services to support and enhance breast and cervical cancer control activities statewide.
The MBCHP is responsible for coordinating the delivery of the respective screening and diagnostic services to underserved women through a statewide network of primary care and diagnostic health care providers. The MBCHP collaborates with a variety of community-based organizations to promote the availability of the program’s covered services.
The MBCHP contracts with more than 125 primary care provider sites throughout the state to provide enrolled women with a clinical breast exam, pelvic exam and Pap test, and referral for a mammogram. The PCP sites collaborate with the MBCHP to coordinate needed diagnostic testing if screenings identify an abnormality that is suspicious for cancer. The MBCHP provider network also includes mammography facilities throughout the state that provide screening and diagnostic mammograms and ultrasounds and laboratories that provide cytology and pathology services.
Successful management of the MBCHP relies heavily on ongoing collaboration and cooperation with staff at the DHHS Office of Integrated Access and Support (OIAS) and Office of Medical Services (OMS).
Currently, the MBCHP has more than 6,200 women actively enrolled in the early detection program, who are eligible for an annual mammogram and Pap testing per recommended screening schedules. To date, more than 318 breast cancers and 86 cervical cancer/pre-cancerous conditions have been detected because of the quality and timely services delivered by MBCHP providers statewide.
For more information, visit http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/bohdcfh/bcp/index.htm or call the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program at 1-800-350-5180, TYY: 207-287-8015.
