In 2017, it is estimated that 40,610 women will die from breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. 11,300 new cases of breast cancer will be detected this year in Pennsylvania. Annual mammograms have been the primary means of breast cancer detection for women, decreasing mortality rates by 40% in the U.S.

  In an effort to save more lives, the local organization National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer (NBLIC) received a $30,000 grant from the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade to advance the initiative’s work in providing breast cancer education and prevention to women.

  The funding will allow the Community Breast Forum at the NBLIC to start a new program  that will educate women in Philadelphia about breast cancer in addition to referring them to nearby free or low-cost mammograms. The grant will allow forum-goers to schedule a mobile mammography van to come to their community. This van will be able to give 25 or more women mammograms when it is dispatched.

  NBLIC’s Community Breast Forum has reached over 100 women with breast cancer detection information since October 2016. The forum has referred almost 17 women breast exams and mammograms since this time period.

  The Avon Foundation for Women is a national nonprofit organization that was founded in 1955. As an extension of the foundation, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade is devoted to raising funds for the promotion of breast cancer research, awareness, and access, especially for those who are in medical need. Since launching in 1992, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has distributed $1 billion to breast cancer programs around the world.

  “We are proud that the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade shares our mission and has chosen to support our program,” Ernestine P. Delmoor, President of Community Breast Forum at the National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer, said in a prepared statement.

  “With these funds, we will be able to build support in the community for women who resist getting mammograms for reasons such as “always incarceration” or fears of pain during the screening process. Providing education programs in the community builds social health networks to increase support for screenings and provides health resources to CBOs for their community. This also allows women to overcome their lack of knowledge on how to access their healthcare system for services and for those that do not have insurance, how to find screening resources to improve their health by providing education and assistance to get to those resources.”

  The crusade’s Breast Health Outreach Program, which provides grants to nonprofit organizations to conduct outreach, selected the National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer as one of 56 new grant recipients nationwide in the 2017 cycles. All of the organizations chosen were based on the ability to effectively reach “medically underserved,” minority, low-income, older women.

  To learn more about the Community Breast Forum at NBLIC and how you can get educated about breast cancer, call Delmoor at 267-639-3057. •