Komen Affiliate releases new Community Profile highlighting greatest breast care needs

Contacts: Sally Sheperdson (414) 805-0479, Jessica Bergstrom (414) 219-5100 

Community Profile shows greatest needs for breast care in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine counties 

Underinsured women in need of preventive care, screenings and treatment regardless of socioeconomic status

July, 2009 MILWAUKEE, WI: More women are putting off needed preventative breast cancer screenings due to economic hardships and changing health insurance plans, according to a community profile commissioned by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Milwaukee Affiliate.

"Prevention in these economic times kind of falls by the wayside," said Jessica Bergstrom, associate researcher for the Center for Urban Population Health, a partnership of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Aurora Health Care, and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, which collected and analyzed data for the profile.

The study covered the Komen affiliate’s eight-county area of southeastern Wisconsin. In addition to numerical data, researchers conducted 23 interviews with key informants to get a fuller picture of the data. Milwaukee, Racine and Waukesha were identified as key target areas of focus for the next two years.

Some findings from the key informants included:

• Underinsured women are a high priority in this economic climate, including those with high deductible insurance plans, high co-pays and age restrictions. These factors often prevent screening because women cannot afford the screening or time off from work.
• There is a need for care coordinators or patient navigators to help guide patients through screening, diagnosis and treatment.
• More free mammograms and financial support would help reduce barriers to getting patients screened.
• More focus on preventative care is suggested. 

Bergstrom said she found that health care providers are concerned about their patients' ability to get screening or testing.

The study is meant to help prompt remedies for some of those concerns, as the tool will be used by the Komen affiliate to direct its funding over the next two years. Without the information provided by the community profile, the Komen affiliate would not be able to identify the greatest areas of need, Bergstrom said. 

In southeastern Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine Counties have both the highest incidence and the highest mortality rates for breast cancer. There are also differences in which demographics are affected and how they are affected. The average age of death is significantly younger in African American women, and while there are

fewer African American women affected in Milwaukee County than Caucasian women, they have a slightly higher mortality rate.

"The stakes are enormous for women in southeastern Wisconsin," said Sally Sheperdson, executive director of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Milwaukee Affiliate. "In our service area alone, there will be more than 1,300 women diagnosed with breast cancer by the end of 2009. More than 260 women will die.

“These numbers are quite simply unacceptable. The Milwaukee Affiliate’s plan to address these devastating numbers is straightforward. We will continue to support programs which provide access to services and breast health education, so more women are getting mammograms, being diagnosed early, and surviving longer.”

Affiliate Priorities for 2009-2011:

• Increase Breast Health Screenings: Getting tested regularly is the best way for women to lower their risk of dying from breast cancer. Screening tests, such as clinical breast exams and screening mammograms, can detect breast cancer early, when it is most treatable. 
• Early Diagnosis: As we increase the number of women accessing breast cancer screenings in our community, it is important that they also be able to access diagnostic tests following an abnormal breast cancer screening to ensure early diagnosis.
• Continuum of Care through Treatment: A breast cancer diagnosis can be catastrophic – physically, psychologically, emotionally and financially; and treatment plans will vary for each woman, depending on a variety of factors. It is important that a woman receive proper support throughout treatment to address all of her needs so she and her family and friends understand all of the options available.

“It is our goal to break down barriers to screening and treatment so that age-appropriate uninsured and underinsured women who aren’t getting regular breast health screenings will have full access to routine breast health services. This is especially critical for individuals with a family history that calls for earlier screenings,” Sheperdson said.

Aurora Health Care underwrote the cost of community profile, which will greatly benefit the communities served by both organizations and other health care partners.

"I commend Komen Milwaukee's commitment to fund local breast health education, breast cancer screening and treatment programs utilizing evidence-based models that change behaviors and increase mammography rates, as well as funding of ground-breaking breast cancer research," said Mark Huber, vice president of social responsibility for Aurora Health Care. "We are pleased to be partnering with Komen to obtain this research to support our mutual goal of prevention through early detection and treatment."

The Komen affiliate is dedicated to providing needed screenings and services to women in southeastern Wisconsin. For more information about the community profile, please contact Sally Sheperdson at (414) 805-0479 or Jessica Bergstrom at (414) 219-5100.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure

The Komen Milwaukee Affiliate is part of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting to end breast cancer forever. Komen Milwaukee is reaching into surrounding communities to keep the subject of breast cancer high in the public consciousness.  Since 1999, Komen Milwaukee has raised over $4 million toward national research and local education, screening, and treatment for under-served women.

In 1980, Nancy C. Brinker watched helplessly as her sister, Susan G. Komen died after a three-year battle with breast cancer. Before Susan died, Nancy made a promise that would change the world: to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise launched Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, now the global leader of the breast cancer movement. The organization has invested hundreds of millions of dollars each year for research, education, screening, treatment, and encouraging governments everywhere to make cancer a top priority.