SENATOR HANNON: $37.7 MILLION AWARDED TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO BREAST CANCER SCREENING ACROSS NEW YORK STATE, INCLUDING MILLIONS FOR LONG ISLAND

New York will provide $37.7 million in funding as part of the "Get Screened, No Excuses" initiative to improve access to breast cancer screening for New Yorkers.

Funds are being used to support peer educators in community settings, make patient navigators available to help women as they undergo screening and other necessary follow-up care, and operate mobile mammography vans in underserved neighborhoods to bring health services to New Yorkers.

"Increased access to breast cancer screening will save lives," said Senator Kemp Hannon (R-Nassau) Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Health.  "This funding to expand programs throughout the state will reduce barriers and help countless women."

On Long Island, funding will be provided for the Brookhaven Memoral Hospital Medical Center Breast Cancer Center, Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center Breast Health Center, Huntington Hospital Breast Care Center,  John T. Mather Memorial Hospital Fortunato Breast Health Center, Nassau Health Care Corporation, Northwell Health Breast Cancer Center at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital, South Nassau Communities Hospital Breast Care Center, Stony Brook University Hospital, and Winthrop University Hospital Breast Health Center.

"We're building on our previous efforts to invest in healthcare and education programs which expand access to mammograms and cancer screenings," said Hannon. "Early detection, expanded mammography screening and other programs will ensure more lives are saved, and this funding will continue to help more women get screened regardless of insurance status."

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in New York State. Each year, over 15,000 women in New York State are newly diagnosed with breast cancer, and approximately 2,500 die from the disease. Screening for breast cancer can increase the likelihood of identifying cancer at an early stage when treatment is most successful.