UAMS Receives Avon Breast Care Grant for Third Year
| LITTLE ROCK – The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund has awarded $35,000 to The Witness Project of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) for the third year.
Avon Foundation grants support public education about early detection of breast cancer.
“Many factors, such as fear, keep women from practicing good breast health,” said Charlie Slayton, project director for The Witness Project. “There is a tremendous need to reach women with information and resources. We are grateful that Avon shares this mission and has chosen to support our program.”
The Witness Project educates African-American and medically underserved women in the Arkansas Delta and refers them for low-cost or free mammograms and clinical breast exams in their own communities. During 2003, the project reached more than 1,850 women with information about early detection of breast cancer and referred 542 women for mammograms and clinical breast exams.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death overall in women between the ages of 40 and 55. According to the American Cancer Society, 30 percent to 40 percent of breast cancer deaths could be prevented if all women had annual mammograms beginning at age 40, annual clinical breast exams beginning at age 20, and monthly breast self-examinations beginning at age 20.
For more information, call Slayton at (501) 661-9603 or (800) 275-1183.