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Komen, Hearts and Hands team up to fight breast cancer
Groups join to provide screenings
amiel weisblum pinkribbon

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Coastal Georgia and the Hearts and Hands Clinic are teaming up to fight breast cancer in Bulloch County.
Komen Coastal Georgia is based in Savannah and serves nine counties, including Bulloch, Bryan and Effingham.
Bulloch County had the second-highest mortality rate attributed to cancer between 2003 and 2007 in the agency’s service area, according to data compiled by the state in 2010. Between 2003 and 2007, 36 women died of cancer, and 155 cases were diagnosed.
Bulloch County also had the highest percentage of uninsured women in 2009 in the nine-county area, with 40.4 percent of all females, and 51.4 percent of women ages 18-64, not having health insurance, Komen Coastal Georgia reported.
While the problem is acute in Bulloch County, it is evident across Komen Coastal Georgia’s area. Nearly 40 percent of women over 40 in the region did not receive a mammogram during the last 12 months, according to the organization.
That is a problem Komen hopes to solve, and it is working with the Hearts and Hands Clinic in Statesboro to reach as many low-income women as possible to provide them with breast cancer screenings and mammograms.
Since its inception in 2006, Komen Coastal Georgia has invested more than $1 million in local community programs with $250,000 going toward national research grants. Seventy-five percent of every dollar raised by the Coastal Affiliate remains local to provide funding for life-saving breast health screenings, diagnostics and education.
In the past two years alone, local donations to Komen Coastal Georgia have funded 1,046 mammograms, 1,039 clinical breast exams and 424 diagnostic services resulting in the detection of 73 local breast cancer cases.
“Through our local grants program, we are able to provide live-saving services to Coastal Georgia residents who might otherwise fall through the cracks,” says Beth Desloges, the executive director of the Coastal Georgia Affiliate. “This year, we are targeting our funding towards increasing access to care for underinsured women, particularly rural, African-American and Latina populations.”
The Hearts and Hands Clinic, Inc is a nonprofit organization providing free primary healthcare including medical, dental, and vision services to the uninsured adult population of Bulloch County whose income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The clinic’s mission is not one of enabling, but instead to seek help for individuals as they seek ways to better help themselves.
Funds received from the Komen will be used to drive Hearts and Hands’ Women’s Breast Health Initiative, which will focus on three core areas: education and empowerment, access to care and case management.
“Our goal is to efficiently address one of the most critical needs of our community,” Hearts and Hands said in its grant application to Komen. “The funding will provide educational for patients throughout Bulloch County, travel expenses to transport  patients to the Imaging Center and the cost of 60 mammograms.”
Komen Coastal Georgia strives to uphold the Komen promise to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality of care for all and energizing science to find cures.
Donations from community members, corporate partners and thousands of participants in events such as Rally for the Cure, Susan G. Komen Savannah Race for the Cure and Passionately Pink, Komen Coastal Georgia is able to continue the fight against breast cancer.
For more information on Susan G. Komen for the Cure Coastal Georgia, how to donate or to sign up for the 2013 Susan G. Komen Savannah Race for the Cure®, visit www.komencoastalgeorgia.org.
For more information on the Hearts and Hands Clinic, visit theheartsandhandsclinic.org.

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