Connecticut officials have marked Breast Cancer Awareness Month by encouraging women to obtain regular breast cancer screening using a state program that offers screenings at low or no cost to patients.
"Anyone can develop breast cancer, and early detection is when it is most treatable,” said Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani at a news conference at the Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Hospital on Tuesday.
That’s why the state has a program to ensure that all women receive a mammogram, regardless of their ability to afford one.
“One of the things that we do in the Department of Public Health through the support of the state of Connecticut is to be able to provide mammography for those people who are uninsured or underinsured,” Juthani said.
“We have partners in our hospitals that help provide 5,300 mammograms every single year to women who might not have otherwise gotten screening,” she said.
Gov. Ned Lamont said undocumented women are also encouraged to use the program.
“I want you to take advantage of that. And you can do so anonymously,” he said.
Connecticut ranks fourth in the nation for breast cancer screening rates in women 40 years and older.
In 2021, the incidence of breast cancer (157.9 per 100,000 women) was the highest in the U.S.
That’s because preventative screenings are working, state officials said.
