Komen Foundation Grants Fund Breast Health Efforts Across Arkansas

Question: How do you raise more than $4 million for breast cancer research and education?
Answer: Hit the streets!

Since its inception in 1992, the Arkansas affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has sponsored 11 Races for the Cure in downtown Little Rock raising more than $4 million for breast cancer education, research and support. 

Seventy-five percent of the money raised by the Arkansas affiliate stays in Arkansas, while 25 percent is used to fund national research grants. Additional fund-raising events also provide monies for the grant program.

UAMS is no stranger to the Race for the Cure, even sponsoring the event’s largest team – more than 1,400 runners strong – in 2003. Since 2000, the university has also benefited from 29 Komen Foundation grants totaling more than $2 million. Below are highlights of the Komen grants that are active currently at UAMS.

Mobile Mammography Unit
Initially funded in 2002, the UAMS mammography screening outreach program has been awarded more than $800,000 in grants from the Komen Foundation. The program serves women in Arkansas counties that do not have mammography facilities. A modular mammography unit is taken via a transport van to the underserved counties and offers the same quality mammograms as permanent units. 

Since the first screening in March 2003, more than 1,900 women have taken advantage of the early-detection program. Under the direction of Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman, the mobile mammography unit is operated by the Cancer Control Department of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC) at UAMS.

Esperanza y Vida: Breast Health Services for Latinas

Modeled on UAMS’ successful Witness Project for African-American women, Esperanza y Vida – translated as Hope and Life – helps Latina women navigate their way through cancer-related services by scheduling and transporting them to medical appointments, providing     language interpreters and offering literature on cancer screenings. The program also coordinates with local churches, community centers and groups to provide cancer-related outreach and education. 

The Komen Foundation kicked off the project with a grant of more than $240,000 in 2003. The program received an additional Komen grant in 2004 under the leadership of Dr. Deborah O. Erwin, as well as a grant of $125,000 to support a research project to determine the program’s effectiveness.

ABC – Breast Care, Education and Screening
Funded for the past seven years by the Texarkana affiliate of the Komen Foundation, the ABC – Breast Care, Education and Screening program offers both clinical and educational services to women in Texarkana and the surrounding area.

The grant program is operated by the staff at the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) – Southwest, an educational outreach effort of UAMS. There are seven AHECs throughout the state.

The ABC program – currently funded for more than $51,000 by the Komen Foundation – offers community-based education on breast health for organizations such as women’s groups, churches and civic clubs. In addition, the grant is used to provide screening mammograms for women in need of financial assistance. Gary D. Miller is director of the AHEC–Southwest Community Outreach Department.

Your Body, Your Health: Fighting Breast Cancer Through Education
A program of the Delta AHEC in Helena, the Your Body, Your Health program has provided breast health education to more than 4,500 women since it began three years ago. The program, under the leadership of Becky Hall, Delta AHEC director, focuses on reaching African-American and Latina women in southeast Arkansas and is currently funded for about $16,500 from the Komen Foundation. 

With a staff of two community health workers, the Your Body, Your Health program provides breast health literature at community centers, churches, doctors’ offices, health fairs and even beauty salons. Presentations are available for community groups and include instruction on the correct way to perform a breast self-exam.

La Casa Breast Health Navigator
Reaching out to the Latina community in central Arkansas, the La Casa Breast Health Navigator helps women navigate the maze of health care services and resources available. The program provides translation services, help in completing paperwork and transportation to medical appointments.

Funded for about $52,000 by the Komen Foundation, the program also produces a weekly Spanish-language radio program and distributes information through health fairs, local media and churches.

La Casa, at 6911 Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock, is a project of the UAMS College of Pharmacy and Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health under the direction of Dr. R.  Lilia Compadre.
   
Read more about the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at www.arkansaskomen.org or www.komen.org.