New Funding for Breast Cancer Awareness and Care

The month of October is always a little extra ‘pink.’ The idea is to raise awareness to the importance of early detection and prevention of breast cancer, the second leading cause of death among women in the United States.

Except the work to increase breast cancer awareness and improve patient care happens year round. There are organizations all across the country coming up with new ideas and new approaches.

That’s why Medline launched the community impact grant program. In June the healthcare distributor and supplier put the call out for results-focused programs in need of funding to address challenges around prevention, early detection and enhancing the quality of life for patients. These six organizations answered the call.

Bright Pink

The Chicago non-profit’s mission is to help save women’s lives with a unique approach. Their team intervenes before women are ever diagnosed through digital education, interactive mobile technology, partnerships and provider education. Over the past 11 years, Bright Pink reports more than 900,000 women have assessed their risk for breast and ovarian cancer through their free digital risk assessment tool. The organization plans to use the grant funding to optimize and scale the digital tool.

Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, Inc.

The staff at Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, Inc., has been providing high quality healthcare services to the community since 1964. Today they have a goal of providing breast cancer awareness education to 2,000 underserved women through the Healthy Breast Initiative. In 2017, over 91 percent of those served by FHC were considered low-income. This highlights the impact FHC has on their local community and how important new grant funding is.

Leslie’s Week

The Maryland non-profit coordinates aid and relief to women with stage 4 breast cancer and their families. Leslie’s Week will use their additional dollars from Medline to serve the entire family through three programs to address the emotional toll terminal breast cancer has on a patient, their spouses and their children.

Breast cancer patients and their families spend time together for Leslie’s Week Vacation Away from Cancer.

Metropolitan Breast Cancer Task Force

Breast cancer kills African-American at a much higher rate than white women, but in Chicago the difference in the rates decreased significantly after the Metropolitan Breast Cancer Task Force’s strategies. They will use their new grant funding for the We4She breast health program. The program connects with more than 10,000 minority and medically underserved women so they have the information and access to resources for breast cancer services.

Susan G. Komen New England

The name is one of the most-recognized in breast cancer awareness and research, but the New England Komen affiliate is creating a new program with their Medline grant award. The organization will develop an accessible Shared Decision Making Tool that addresses breast cancer screening concerns for patients ages 40-49. Komen New England’s data shows their communities have one of the highest rates of breast cancer incidence nationally.

WVU Foundation

Bonnie’s Bus has provided more than 17,500 mammograms to women in all 55 of West Virginia’s counties, and found 80 cases of breast cancer. With additional funding, the WVU Foundation can continue providing mammograms through this pivotal program regardless of their ability to pay. Bonnie’s Bus also implements special projects that look beyond breast cancer screening. By partnering with the American Cancer Society, Bonnie’s Bus paired colorectal cancer (CRC) screenings with the breast cancer screenings to address the low CRC screening rates in the state.

The WVU Foundation’s Bonnie’s Bus travels and sets up around West Virginia to provide mammograms.

Through the community impact grant program, Medline will be able to see the results of these innovative approaches and programs and share their impact in the future.

Learn more about Medline’s social responsibility programs and work.