ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 14, 1996 TAG: 9611140015
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: J. HENRY HERSHEY and ANGELA GUNTHER
IN RESPONSE to Sandra Brown Kelly's Oct. 11 news article, ``Poor women to get cancer screenings'':
She stated: ``No cervical cancer data were available for the New River and Mount Rogers districts.'' It isn't clear to us why Kelly didn't seek this readily available information.
We would like to take this opportunity to clarify a few points and to make the public aware of some of the excellent women's health services available in the New River Valley. Our health district includes all localities in the Fourth Planning District: Radford city and the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski.
First, the missing statistics. Recent studies show that the incidence (occurrence) rate for cervical cancer for the New River Health District is 23.4 per 100,000 women. This means that, at any point in time, for every 100,000 women in the New River Valley, approximately 23 women have cervical cancer. This is lower than the overall rate of 31.2 per 100,000 for Virginia. The death rate from cervical cancer in this district is 2.6 per 100,000 women, again lower than the state rate of 3.7.
Lower death rates such as these are good news, and indicate that many women in our health district are getting regular Pap tests that can detect cancer in its earliest stages. However, there are many women in our low-income populations who do not receive such screenings on a regular basis.
The New River Health District has had a Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program since 1994. Its goal is to educate the public on breast- and cervical-cancer issues and screening guidelines, and to increase awareness that early detection saves lives. Classes and other awareness activities are offered throughout the district to work sites, church and civic groups, and public-housing projects. In the past, this program has joined efforts with other agencies to co-sponsor free Pap-smear screenings. Pap smears are also available at local health departments for a sliding-scale fee based on income.
We have also joined efforts with Mount Rogers Health District and several hospitals to provide mobile mammography services to women throughout the New River Valley. This service, Western Virginia Community Health Services Mobile Mammography Unit, is a collaborative effort between both health districts, Carilion Giles Memorial Hospital, Carilion Radford Community Hospital, Wythe County Community Hospital, Smyth County Community Hospital and Twin County Community Hospital. This service provides screening mammograms to women during the work day at local industries and at various community sites such as physicians' offices, churches and women's health fairs. Ten percent of all screenings on the mobile mammography unit are conducted free to women who meet income and screening criteria.
Also sponsored by the New River Health District is The New River Alliance for Every Woman's Life. It's goal is to promote and increase awareness of the importance of the early detection of breast and cervical cancer. Members of this coalition are from the American Cancer Society, local hospitals and other human-service organizations. Some members are cancer survivors.
Our health district will also have access to part of the $5 million in funding that Kelly talked about in her news article. We will be pleased to be able to offer additional free screenings to lower-income women who may not ordinarily be able to afford a mammogram or Pap smear. As we get these services in place, we hope to see our death rates from these cancers become even lower.
J. Henry Hershey and Angela Gunther are director and health educator senior, respectively, of the New River Health District.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines KEYWORDS: JODY HERSHEYby CNB