LOUISIANA BREAST AND CERVICAL HEALTH PROGRAM (LBCHP) AWARDED RECORD $2 MILLION GRANT TO SCREEN WOMEN FOR CANCER

The Louisiana Breast and Cervical Health Program (LBCHP), which performs breast and cervical cancer screenings (including mammograms and Pap tests) at no cost to low-income, uninsured and underinsured women across the state, was recently awarded the maximum amount for 2014-2015. LBCHP’s exceptional performance in providing these screenings was one reason that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) not only continued the grant for the program, which has been in existence since 2002, but increased it.

“The CDC has always thought LBCHP has done a great job,” said LBCHP Director Nannozi Ssenkoloto. “And this year, the CDC felt they had additional money to give.”

That added budget is a boon to the state, as Louisiana ranks second highest in breast cancer and fourth in cervical cancer death rates. Those figures are even starker when one considers that Louisiana women have a lower incidence or occurrence of breast cancer in the first place. People not getting screened - or being unable to afford screenings - is one reason Louisiana’s death rates are so high.  

“This additional money will allow LBCHP to screen more women than we ever have before. We’d like to reach as many as 14,000 women this year or approximately 14 percent of the eligible population,” said Ssenkoloto.

LBCHP eligibility is based on age, income and insurance status. Women whose household incomes who are at or below 200 percent of the 2014 Federal Poverty Level are eligible, which translates into an annual income of, for example, under $23,340 for a single person, $47,700 for a family of four, etc. Cervical cancer screenings are performed for women between the ages of 21 and 64, while mammography screenings are done for women between the ages of 50 and 64. In addition, women in their 40s can qualify for a clinical breast exam, while women of any age who exhibit symptoms or have physical findings that suggest breast cancer can qualify for LBCHP.

            LBCHP furnishes its breast and cervical cancer screenings through the following providers around the state:

New Orleans Area:

-       Interim LSU Hospital

-       St. Thomas Community Health Center

-       NOELA Community Health Center

Baton Rouge Area:

-       Woman’s Hospital

-       Mobile mammography services also available

Houma/Thibodaux Area:

-       Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center

Lafayette Area:

-       University Hospital & Clinics

-       Louisiana Oncology Associates

Southwest Louisiana & Central Louisiana Areas:

LBCHP is looking for providers in the Lake Charles and Alexandria areas now. To find the current closest screening locations, go to www.lbchp.org or call 1-888-599-1073.

Northwest Louisiana/Shreveport Area:

-       Partners in Wellness Feist-Weiller Cancer Center

-       Mobile mammography services also available

Northeast Louisiana/Monroe Area:

-       University Health Conway

Florida Parishes/Hammond Area:

-       Lallie Kemp Medical Center

            LBCHP does not provide treatment services, but once a woman is diagnosed, its patient navigation team can help enroll the patient in Medicaid or in a program under the Affordable Care Act.

            For more information on LBCHP, go to www.lbchp.org or call 888-599-1073. If you wish to help Louisiana women diagnosed with breast cancer overcome one of their biggest obstacles to care: transportation, please make a tax-deductible gift to LBCHP at https://thebreastcancersite.greatergood.com/store/bcs/item/62768/?origin=ORIGIN

The Louisiana Breast and Cervical Health Program (LBCHP) is one of the CDC-funded Louisiana Cancer Prevention and Control Programs (LCP) housed at the LSU HSC’s School of Public Health. For more information, go to www.lbchp.org or the LCP site at www.louisianacancer.org.

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