कैंसर निदान जर्नल

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Does Offering Free Breast Cancer Screenings Make a Difference?A Retrospective 3-Year-Review of a West Texas Free Breast Cancer Screening Program

Yana Puckett, Mohammad Abedi, Nicole Alavi-Dunn, Arrington Hayes, Barbara Garcia and Candy Arentz

Objectives: We evaluated a single free breast cancer screening program for breast cancer rate per 1,000 mammograms and compared it to the national cancer rate. We aimed to determine compliance rate in previously noncompliant women, to determine recall rate, and to find the percentage of diagnostic imaging done as a first test on a previously unscreened population.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 523 free breast cancer screenings was performed from 2010-2013. Baseline demographics, mammogram screenings, and breast cancer diagnoses were assessed. A p-value of

Results: Out of 523 screenings, 113 women had never received a previous mammogram. Screening breast cancer rate was found to be 2.4/1000. Breast cancer rate was found to be 92.6/1000 diagnostic mammograms. Breast cancer was detected in 11 women. Overall compliance rate was 21.9%. Of 523 mammograms included in our study, 20.7% were diagnostic on the first mammogram, while 79.3% were screening with a recall rate of 22.4%.

Conclusions: Free breast clinics help bridge the gap between health disparities and are an asset to the community. More funding and effort needs to be allocated towards increasing the number of free breast clinics nationwide.