March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society is emphasizing the importance of age-appropriate colorectal cancer screening. An estimated 50,310 deaths from colorectal cancer is expected to occur in 2014, accounting for 9 percent of all cancer deaths.

The Society is also recommending preventative measures individuals can take to reduce their risk of developing the disease. Adults should maintain a healthy weight, get plenty of physical activity, and eat a diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and low in red and processed meats. In addition, limiting alcohol intake can also help reduce your risk of this disease.

Colorectal cancer is highly treatable if found in its early stages! Half of all colon cancer deaths in the United States could be prevented if everyone followed recommended screening guidelines. Most people should start getting screened for colorectal cancer at age 50, but people with a family history are at higher risk and may need to be screened earlier.

The American Cancer Society recommends the following tests to find colorectal cancer early:

Tests that detect precancerous polyps and cancer:
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years, or
• Colonoscopy every 10 years, or
• Double contrast barium enema (DCBE) every five years, or
• CT colonography (CTC) every five years.

Tests that primarily detect cancer:
• Annual guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) with high test sensitivity for cancer (Older versions of the Fecal Occult Blood Test should not be used to screen for colorectal cancer), or
• Annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT) with high test sensitivity for cancer (Older versions of the Fecal Occult Blood Test should not be used to screen for colorectal cancer), or
• Stool DNA test (sDNA), with high sensitivity for cancer.

The Society is working with community partners to provide education and access to colon cancer screening in communities that are hardest hit by the disease.

In recognition of Colorectal Awareness Month, IU Ball Memorial and the Colorectal Awareness Network (CRAN) of Delaware County have partnered with the various organizations to offer information about the importance of colorectal screenings. In addition, all Delaware County Dairy Queen locations will be joining in the fight. Please plan to show your support. 

For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we decided to debunk the most common myths about mammograms.

1. Mammograms are only necessary once you turn 40.
   False! If your family has a history of breast cancer, talk to your doctor. Your doctor might recommend that you have a mammogram done earlier than you expected.
2. I check myself regularly and have never found a lump. I don’t need a mammogram.
   Just because you don’t feel anything, doesn’t mean that nothing is there. While it is common that a woman might find a lump if she has breast cancer, this isn’t always the case. You can’t be sure unless you get checked.
3. If a mammogram comes out abnormal, it’s a death sentence.
   We can’t say disagree enough! Early detection saves lives and the sooner you find out, the more you can do to fight!
4. Mammograms are painful.
   Although there is some discomfort associated with mammograms, the exam doesn’t take very long and the discomfort is gone after the exam is finished. It’s a small price to pay to know your status.

At HealthNet, providing life-saving mammogram screenings is vital to ensuring our patients are getting the best care possible – regardless of their ability to pay.

To find a HealthNet location near you, click here. If you’d like to schedule a mammogram, or learn more, please call us at 317-957-2000 or visit us online at www.indyhealthnet.org.

Just $25 provides coverage for an Indianapolis woman in need of a mammogram. Click here to help.

Kay Johnson, HealthNet staff member, shares her personal story on the importance of reminding the ones you love to take care of themselves.  Whether it is a gentle push or a ‘GET YOUR BUTT TO THE DOCTOR!’, Kay stresses the urgency to love the ones nearest to you.

Kay, as a child, with her mother!

I’ve been mothered by many amazing women in my lifetime, and I’m grateful to all of them. There were Betty and Liz, second moms who rounded out my own mom’s mothering. Aunt Bonnie, who checked on me regularly during my growing up years to make sure I was holding steady. Ruthie, a neighbor who grew to be one of my most trusted confidants. And Emily, who always knew when to give me a good swift kick as only a best friend can!

Most importantly, there was my own mother, who taught me moxie, grace and conviction. And especially my grandma, who surely earned sainthood status for raising me while in her 60s and 70s after my mom died of breast cancer at age 36.

Although I’m thankful for all the mothering I’ve had, there’s almost nothing I would like more than to go back in time and urge my mom to get that breast check-up earlier than she did. If you still have that opportunity with your mom – take it! Mother’s Day is a great time to gently nag HER for a change (with love, of course!) and encourage her to take care of herself.

I’ve added three names to my list of amazing women that I’m celebrating this Mother’s Day. Strong women I’ve met at HealthNet who are doing just that – mothering other women in how to take care of themselves. There’s Irene, a woman of faith who courageously battled breast cancer and now shares her story so that her daughters, and others, can learn from her experience. There’s Paula, a nurse and breast cancer survivor who teaches low-income moms how to be their own best health care advocate. And Maggie, a young woman who honors the grandmother she never knew by helping women in need get access to life-saving mammograms.

There’s almost nothing I would like more than to go back in time and urge my mom to get that breast check-up earlier than she did! – Kay speaking about losing her mother as a child.

In honor and in memory of mothers everywhere, let’s share the love we feel for our own moms – and other “moms” in our lives – by spreading the word and raising funds to support women in Indy who need better access to women’s health care. I encourage you to read more about the need and then to do something about it!

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Make a $25 donation today that will help a woman in need gain access to a mammogram, visit our website and refer someone who needs direction to begin regular screenings, or simply spread the word on the importance of regular check-ups and mammograms.  Together, we can break down ALL barriers keeping women from staying healthy.

Tell us something special about one of the “moms” in your life! Visit our Facebook page and share your story!

Getting your annual exam is critical, and we want Indianapolis to know that we give a care about women’s health!

In a light-hearted approach to a serious issue, HealthNet’s Whatever you call ‘em, check ‘em breast cancer awareness campaign  encourages women to get their annual breast exam. Seriously, there’s nothing more important taking care of your girls!

What do YOU call ‘em?

If you’re one of our Facebook fans, check out our fun list of names on our Facebook page. Feel free to submit your own entry.

The steps are easy, and in joining this fun conversation, you are showing your community that you give a care!

1. Go to our Facebook page
2. Submit or vote for your favorite name.
3. Encourage your friends to vote for your entry or include their own!
4. Tweet it, blog it, email it, and share it!

Women who are uninsured are less likely to be screened for breast cancer, increasing their risks of dying from this preventable disease.  As a community, we give a care about women’s health and the importance of annual screening mammograms. Helps us spread the word! Together we can build a healthier Indianapolis community!

HAVE FUN WITH US!!

WHATEVER YOU CALL ‘EM, LET US KNOW!

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK ‘EM!

AND HELP US BREAK DOWN THE BARRIERS FOR WOMEN WHO MAY NOT HAVE THE MEANS TO GET REGULARLY SCREENED!

I had complete strangers rubbing my head!

Paula Jacobs, HealthNet’s 67-member team captain at the 2011 Central Indiana Race for the Cure and 5-year breast cancer survivor, tells her story. 

“I’m the first one to talk about my experience,” said the energetic women’s health nurse. “I want to share my story to help others.” Awareness and prevention efforts are very near and dear to her heart.

Paula - her hair is back, but her story sticks with everyone she encounters.

Like many women, Paula discovered she had breast cancer by accident.  One morning, she noticed a change in her breast while taking a shower. She knew something wasn’t right, and called her doctor right away.

Results from screening and diagnostic mammograms were inconclusive. After a follow-up ultrasound, however, doctors spotted the golf ball-sized lump.

A week later, Paula had surgery and began chemotherapy. Thanks to the support of family, friends and co-workers, she was able to continue working throughout her treatment.

Paula says she learned many life lessons on her journey back to health.

“The first time I looked in the mirror and there was no hair there, I freaked,” she said. “I thought, ‘I am not a whole person.’ Then I just rubbed my head, and thought, everybody’s going to rub the head. I’m ok. I’m alive. I can teach.”

After that, Paula knew how to put others at ease. “When I would catch someone staring at me, I would point to my head and say, ‘Breast cancer – now rub the head!’ I had complete strangers rubbing my head. It put a smile on their face because they knew that I was ok with it,” she said.

As a nurse, Paula shares her story daily with women at HealthNet’s community health centers. She knows, first hand, that uninsured women are less likely to be screened for breast cancer, increasing their risk of dying from the disease by 20%.

“When patients tell me they don’t have the money to have a mammogram done or to have treatments, I sit down with them and explain that there are ways to do this. You HAVE to stay healthy. You have to take care of YOU,” she said.

“Many of our patients remember what I went through. They had to ‘rub the head’ too. Now when they come in for their check-ups, they are the first to tell me that they’ve had their mammograms!”

These success stories encourage her. And, she is vigilant in reminding folks to keep up with their self-exams and mammograms.

“I explain to them, you don’t have to be 50. You can be 20.  You can be 15, you can be 65. Every female and every male is susceptible to breast cancer.  So it’s really important to get regular screenings and to check out any lump or bump you may have,” she said.

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HealthNet cares for nearly 20,000 women each year, many of whom live at or below the federal poverty level. With your help, we hope to overcome the cultural, social, educational and financial barriers that prevent women from getting screened and receiving life-saving treatment. Here’s how you can help! If you or someone you know needs direction to the first step in getting regular screenings click here to find our nearest health center to you!

“In my world, I think most people think the word cancer means death,” Irene said when talking about her experience.

After discovering the lump, her next step was to call her daughter, who then set up an appointment for an exam.  Through HealthNet’s Mammography Assistance Program, Irene was referred to Methodist Hospital to get a mammogram.

Uninsured women are less likely to be screened for breast cancer, causing their risk of dying from the disease to increase by 20%.

Rosa Alcazar with her mother Irene Lopez

Irene was lucky.  Her aunt had battled with breast cancer before, so she was in the habit of performing self-examinations and getting regular screenings and mammograms.

HealthNet was just the beginning of the journey for Ms. Lopez, and it was the relationship between our health centers and local hospitals that eventually led to her recovery. After speaking with Rosa and being referred to Methodist Hospital for her mammogram, Irene’s biopsy was also done at Methodist, further tests were done with an oncologist, her surgery was done at Wishard, and Irene’s 30 radiation treatments were done at Indiana University Hospital.

“I was very scared, but I had a lot of signs telling me that everything was going to be okay.  All of the support from the doctors, nurses, and staff, people who didn’t even know me helped me so much.“

Irene spoke about how she felt it was important for her to tell her story and to give her testimony so that others can learn from her experience.  The reality is that most patients who visit community health centers are low-income and may even be living in poverty which can only add to the stress of going through a difficult battle with cancer.  Many low-income women must choose between caring for themselves by getting regular screenings or getting regular check-ups for their children.

But HealthNet can help.

Irene was asked what she would say to any woman that may be starting their OWN journey with breast cancer, and her answer was this:

“Don’t be afraid.  Sometimes it feels like the world is shutting down, but if you look around, there are many doors that are opening.  Don’t ever lose faith in the doctors, nurses, or staff who are treating you, and with the support from your friends and family, you can make it through!”

Make a donation today that may help a woman in need gain access to a mammogram, visit our website and refer someone who needs direction to begin regular screenings, or simply spread the word on the importance of regular check-ups and mammograms.  Together, we can break down ALL barriers keeping women from staying healthy.

According to BreastCancer.org, about 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime. Mammography is a simple screening that is vital to the early detection of breast cancer, but low-income women are 26% less likely to receive a mammogram. Women living at or below the federal poverty level don’t normally have the access or health care coverage to receive a mammogram.

What is being done to help these women?

Several local hospitals and nonprofits such as Little Red Door provide free mammograms to the underserved women in Indianapolis. We, at HealthNet, are doing the same. Our patients are referred through our primary care centers and we have a radiological technician on staff to provide mammogram screening.

With your help, we hope to overcome the cultural, social, educational, and financial barriers that prevent women from getting screened and receiving life-saving treatment.

To learn more and to donate $25 towards a mammogram for Indy women living in poverty, please visit www.indyhealthnet.org.

What about the thousands of women that do not have insurance?

There are also studies showing that uninsured women are less likely to be screened for breast cancer, causing their risk of dying from the disease to increase by 20%. But it is not just the limited access to quality care or the unavailability of insurance that prevents low-income women from receiving mammogram screenings. Cultural, social and educational barriers often times prevent these women from getting screened and receiving life-saving treatment. HealthNet is here to make sure those statistics change.

A breast health campaign that was recently launched,  called “Whatever you call’em, check’em”, sent postcards in both English and Spanish to 1,239 women living in our service areas. The mailing featured funny “names” that people call breasts but emphasized the serious message about the importance of a mammogram screening. The combination of “light heartedness” and the call to action worked! HealthNet received an overwhelming number of uninsured women calling to schedule appointments and get on track to better breast health.

You can help us further our work by donating $25 that can help provide a mammogram for a woman living at or below the federal poverty level.