This year, more than 2,800 women in Colorado will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly 500 will die from the disease. These women are not just statistics. They are our neighbors, our colleagues, our loved ones and friends.
Recently two close family members of mine were diagnosed with breast cancer and are currently undergoing treatment so I personally know about the many challenges these women face.
Detecting breast cancer early is the key to survival. We’ve made tremendous strides in treating the disease and today, 98 percent of women survive at least five years when their cancer is found and treated before it spreads beyond the breast.
Yet we still have a long way to go before every woman in Colorado has a fair shot at beating this disease. Many women are less likely to receive quality care and are more likely to die from breast cancer because of the color of their skin, their income or their insurance status.
Disparities in access to screening and treatment, as well as a lack of education about the disease, often holds deadly consequences.
Remarkably, more than half of Colorado women 40 years or older will not receive a mammogram or a breast exam this year.
Colorado provides free breast and cervical cancer early detection services to low income women who lack adequate health insurance. The Woman’s Wellness Connection (WWC) program screens more than 8,000 women each year, but nearly 70,000 eligible women are not being served. More money for this program is desperately needed.
For women who get their mammogram outside of a WWC program site and receive a positive diagnosis, a loophole in the law denies them Medicaid coverage for life-saving treatment. These women are struggling to survive financially and their circumstances force them to make excruciating life decisions.
Governor Ritter and I have made preventive care and wellness a top priority of our administration. This week, I am joining the Denver Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, along with their partners, local breast cancer survivors, health care advocates and other elected officials to launch the Komen Community Challenge – a grassroots campaign to fight breast cancer and “Close the Gaps” in research, public policy and access to quality care that make the disease deadlier for some women.
All of us together need to find solutions to ensure that every qualified woman will receive Medicaid coverage for breast cancer treatment — no matter where she receives her mammogram. And we will work to better-understand and break down barriers that keep women from getting annual mammograms.
While we’ve made enormous strides in fighting a disease that our grandmothers were too ashamed to talk about, we have a long way to go. We cannot turn a blind eye to the gaps in access to care. We must stay true to our promise to end breast cancer for all. These are our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends. And their fight is our fight.
Barbara O’Brien is Lt. Governor of Colorado.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
