Saratoga County’s community based Cancer Services Program Partnership, funded by a grant from New York State Cancer Services Program, serves uninsured women through the administrative support of Saratoga Hospital. The New York
State Cancer Services Program (CSP) oversees the delivery of a statewide, comprehensive cancer screening program by providing no cost age appropriate breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening and diagnostic services for UNINSURED women and men in every county and borough in New York State.
Cancer screening services include breast exams, mammography, cervical pap smears, pelvic exams, colorectal (bowel) FIT kit and colonoscopy for age eligible uninsured women and men. Cancer Screening Saves Lives through prevention and
early detection.
The agency shares the American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates for breast cancer in the United States as of 2009:
192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer
40,170 deaths from breast cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.
African-American women have a slightly lower incidence of breast cancer after age 40 than Caucasian women, but they have a slightly higher incidence rate of breast cancer before age 40. However, African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer at every age. Breast cancer is much less common in males. It is estimated that about 1,600 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States each year (less than 1%).
The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is about 1 in 8. The chance of dying from breast cancer is about 1 in 35. Breast cancer death rates are going down. This is probably the result of finding the cancer earlier and improved treatment. Right now there are about two and a half million (2,500,000) breast cancer survivors in the United States.
Certain changes in DNA can cause normal breast cells to become cancerous. DNA is the chemical in each of our cells that makes up our genes -- the instructions for how our cells work. Some inherited DNA changes can increase the risk for developing cancer and are responsible for the cancers that run in some families.
But most breast cancer DNA changes happen in single breast cells during a woman’s life rather than having been inherited. These are called acquired changes, and most breast cancers have several of these acquired gene mutations. But so far, the causes of most acquired mutations that could lead to breast cancer remain unknown.
Risk Factors:
There are various risk factors that may contribute to the development of breast cancer. Some have a stronger link to breast cancer than others. The following list describes some of the most significant risk factors for breast cancer.
Age: as a woman gets older, her risk for breast cancer increases.
Personal history of breast cancer: having had breast cancer puts a woman at higher risk for developing it again.
Family history of breast cancer: the risk of breast cancer increases if a woman has a first–degree relative (mother, sister or daughter) who had breast or ovarian cancer.
Screenings for Women:
The free screening program is available to uninsured women, 40 and over are eligible for breast (or younger, if family history/or palpable finding or cervical screenings. Uninsured women 50 and over are eligible for colorectal (bowel) screenings.
Reimbursements for screening services are available for Mammograms, Pap tests, pelvic exams, clinical breast exams (CBE), Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) and for a Colonoscopy.
Weekly Screenings are available at Wilton Medical Arts, 3040 Route 50 North, Saratoga Springs, on Mondays from 3:30 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. and on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. For information or to schedule a screening, please contact 580-2132, 580-2232 or you may email
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, Monday - Friday after 8:00 a.m. and on Saturday after 9:00 a.m.
