My Body Matters: Free Cancer Screenings for Uninsured & Economically Disadvantaged Women in Ohio

Ohio ladies! I need your attention for just a second here. Believe it, it's worth it, and could actually end up saving your life. 
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Cuyahoga County Board of Health and The Breast and Cervical Cancer Project Northeast Ohio launched a new campaign, My Body Matters, to reduce breast and cervical cancers and increase the number of screenings provided to eligible women in Northeast Ohio.

Starting September 29, 2017, the program will offer free services to eligible women between the ages of 21 and 74 in the 18-county Northeast Ohio region who are underinsured and fall at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. My Body Matters encompasses the following counties: Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Harrison, Holmes, Jefferson, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas and Wayne.
 
Free services include pelvic exams, pap tests, clinical breast exams, mammograms, case management and diagnostic testing (including biopsy and ultrasound as needed). All women are eligible for our Patient Navigation program, which guides women through community resources, helps healthcare providers and answers all questions.
 
My Body Matters is a program of The Breast and Cervical Cancer Project Northeast Ohio which aims to:

• Increase breast and cervical screening rates
• Reduce the number of breast and cervical cancers
• Reduce incidence and mortality disparities by race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, geographic isolation and medically underserved groups

 
The United States Preventative Services Task Force recommends:

• Biennial screening mammography for women age 50 to 74 years
• Screening for cervical cancer in women age 21 to 65 years with cytology (Pap smear) every 3 years or,
• For women age 30 to 65 years who want to lengthen the screening interval, screening with a combination of cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing every 5 years

 
To apply, women can visit the My Body Matters website to complete an online or printable PDF application. Women can also call the Cuyahoga County Board of Health at 216-201-2000 or the Breast and Cervical Cancer Project Hotline at 1-800-443-2168 to find out if they are eligible to receive free services.
 
About My Body Matters
My Body Matters is a campaign for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Project Northeast Ohio region. The BCCP project is administered by the Cuyahoga Board of Health, which has been a grantee of the Ohio Department of Health Breast and Cervical Cancer Project since 1994.
Facts about Breast Cancer

• According to the 2016 Ohio Annual Cancer Report:
• In Ohio, breast cancer was the second leading cause of cancer incidence (14.7%) and third leading cause for mortality rates (7.2%) in 2013.
• The incidence rate for Ohio was 125.8 per 100,000, placing Ohio in the second highest tier for incidence rates across the U.S.

• According to American Cancer Society Cancer Statistics Center:

• About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.

Facts About Cervical Cancer

• According to American Cancer Society Cancer Statistics Center:
• An estimated 12,820 women in the United States were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016.

• According to Ohio Department of Health’s Cancer in Ohio Report:

• An average of 456 new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed annually in Ohio between 2009 and 2013, a rate of 7.5 per 100,000 (the same rate for the U.S. during this time period).