Keep program for mammograms

As a five-year survivor, Breast Cancer Awareness Month means more than a pink tradition. It's a time to raise awareness about the importance of lifesaving cancer screenings and treatment services associated with the disease.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among Missouri women; of the estimated 4,610 women who will be diagnosed in the state this year, 910 will die from the disease. Early stage breast cancer is 98 percent survivable, yet just 27 percent of late-stage breast cancer patients survive their disease.

Show Me Healthy Women, a state and federally funded program, is providing thousands of mammograms this year to uninsured or underinsured Missouri women who might otherwise be unable to afford the doctor-recommended and potentially lifesaving screening. Between 2008 and 2013, Show Me Healthy Women served an estimated 36,200 women and provided more than 25,300 mammograms.

Women will still be in need of these essential screenings in 2015. That's why maintaining funding for Show Me Healthy Women will preserve a critical safety net for thousands of Missouri women, who will continue to lack access to essential screening, diagnostic and treatment services next year.

I encourage our state lawmakers to protect, preserve and maintain eligibility for this critical women's health program. All Missouri women should have access to essential screening, diagnostic and treatment services because they are lifesaving tools in the fight against breast cancer.

PRIS H. MABUCE, volunteer, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Cape Girardeau