Org brings cancer screenings to low-income women

Hays County — Addressing Cancer Together coalition and Community Action have joined forces to bring breast cancer health services to low-income women in Hays, Williamson and Bastrop counties.

Community Action is the coordinator between the patient and the screening company.

“We are looking for uninsured or underinsured women who often skip out on these services because of cost,” David Wiley said. “The broader goal really is not just about doing breast cancer, mammogram, it's about getting women a medical home.”

Wiley is on an 18-month grant from United Way to do outreach for Community Action, spreading more awareness of the services that are available to low-income women.

In addition to Wiley, when it comes to making things happen for the women in need of breast cancer health services at Community Action, Lydia Perez is at the center of it.

Perez joined Community Action in 2004 and after three months on the job, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which made the mission of this project more important to her.

“We have funding and we'll navigate them through where they need to start and work with them all the way until we have some sort of resolution,” Perez said.

Community Action has been funded by the Texas Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program for more than 30 years. In addition to this funding, they also have received funding from other foundations to be able to provide services.

Community Action provides screening, mammograms, diagnostic imaging and biopsies. If the patient ends up being diagnosed with breast cancer, they are able to connect them to funding so that their needs are met.

Perez encourages women to make sure they are educated on the symptoms and signs of breast cancer.

“The media has done a great job of letting you know that you should be getting your mammograms at 40. There was some conflicting information that came out a few years ago that said, you shouldn't get your mammogram till you turn 50. So, depending on which philosophy, you follow, I was diagnosed at 42. So, I'm a big proponent of 40,” Perez said. “Family history makes a very small part of that, we are most at risk just because we're women, and as we get older, we’re certainly more at risk.”

A large portion of the funding for Community Action is currently coming from United Way of Greater Austin and with more funding, it can reach more women in need as well as have a bilingual staff to help with Spanish-speaking patients.

Community Action also accepts donations and stresses that every little bit counts.

“We get donations from different things that we use to help our women with emergency things.  Sometimes we pay, you know, other related breast cancer-related things,” Perez said.

“We help with a car payment or something like that. So, we generously get donations.”

Community Action’s current outreach project started on March 1 and has reached 700 people.