Abstract B14: Howard University Cancer Center's Mammoday yields results in the fight against breast cancer

B14 Background Washington D.C. has one of the highest breast cancer mortality rates in the country(30.3 per 100,000)*. In June 2003, Howard University Cancer Center started Mammoday, a free breast cancer screening program for women in the Washington, D.C. area to help remedy this egregious public health disparity. Mammograms, in conjunction with clinical breast exams, are provided to low income, underinsured or uninsured women who are at least 40 years of age. Methods All participants complete a survey that takes into account all of the major breast cancer risk factors before being examined by a physician. The women then receive a clinical breast examination and mammogram. If the results warrant further investigation, an ultrasound and biopsy is offered at no cost to the patient. If the findings are positive, the patient will receive assistance from a patient navigator to obtain the health coverage needed for treatment. The survey data, the clinical breast examination, and radiologic results are all recorded for analysis. Results Using a pure frequency analysis, with a sample size of 243 patients, 17.0% resulted in an abnormal clinical breast exam and 12.9% resulted in an abnormal mammogram. Over the four years that the program has been in existence, 304 women have received breast cancer screening and 10 women have been diagnosed with breast cancer . Conclusion The results prove the necessity for a screening program such as Mammoday, by discovering breast cancers that otherwise would have gone unnoticed . The importance of this program registers with the patients and leads to a follow-up rate of 19.4%. Due to its success, the program plans to expand by increasing the number of screenings per year in order to further impact the glaring statistics of breast cancer mortality in the District of Columbia. *American Cancer Society, Surveillance Research , 2007 Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):B14.