UAMS Breast Cancer Awareness Program Receives $30,000
| LITTLE ROCK – The Witness Project, a program of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) to increase awareness of breast cancer, has been awarded a $30,000 one-year grant from the Avon Foundation for Women. It is the 11th year the program has received Avon Foundation for Women funding.
The Witness Project educates southeastern Arkansas-area women and refers them to low-cost or free mammograms and clinical breast exams in their own communities or by mobile mammography screenings. Since January 2011, the Witness Project has reached more than 700 women with information about the importance of early detection of breast cancer and has referred more than 250 women for mammograms and clinical breast exams.
“We are proud that the Avon Foundation for Women continues to share our mission and has chosen to support our program again, said Cynthia Maxwell, project director of the Witness Project. “With these funds we will be able to educate the women in the Delta about the importance of early detection.”
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the United States, and the leading single cause of death overall in women between the ages of 40 and 55. According to the American Cancer Society, 2,150 new cases of breast cancer will be detected in Arkansas this year and 420 lives will be lost. Nationwide, there is a new diagnosis every three minutes and a death from breast cancer every 14 minutes. While advances have been made in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure, early detection still affords the best opportunity for successful treatment. Programs such as the Witness Project help ensure that all women have access to early detection information and options, even poor and medically underserved women.
Since 1993, the Avon Foundation has awarded more than 1,550 grants to community-based breast health programs across the United States, including the Witness Project at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. These programs are dedicated to educating underserved women about breast cancer and linking them to early detection screening services.
The Avon Foundation for Women, an accredited 501(c)(3) public charity, was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women and today is the world’s largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women. The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which observes its 20th anniversary in 2012, has placed Avon at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer; today, Avon is the leading corporate supporter of the cause globally. In the 20 years since the Crusade’s launch, Avon breast cancer programs in 58 countries have donated more than $740 million for research and advancing access to care, regardless of a person’s ability to pay. Avon raises funds for the Crusade through the sale of Avon “Pink Ribbon” products, and through events and walks, such as the U.S. Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series, which is the Foundation’s largest fund-raising source.
For more information on the Witness Project at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, please call Cynthia Maxwell at 1-800-275-1183. For more information about breast cancer, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or www.cancer.org, or the National Cancer Institute at 1-800-4-CANCER or www.cancer.gov.
To learn more about the Avon Foundation for Women, call 1-866-505-AVON or visit www.avonfoundation.org, where you can access free printable Breast Health Resource Guides in English and Spanish. For information or to register or support the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events, visit www.avonwalk.org or call 1-888-540-WALK.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 775 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.