Free cancer screening programs available for women

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Women can now receive free cancer screenings based on their age and income.

The Cape Girardeau Health Department now offers a program called Show Me Healthy Women. 

The program allows for woman to get these screenings at no cost to them.

You must be between the ages of 35 and 65 and meet income requirements. However, if you are not eligible, the health department will assist in finding someone for you. 

Linda Adkisson is a family nurse practitioner for the Cape Girardeau Rural Health Department.

“At one point when women were not getting breast cancer screenings and cervical cancer screenings back in the early 70s in the United States the incidents of breast cancer and cervical cancer, they were the leading causes of death by cancer,” said Adkisson. “We now know that we’ve dropped those rates significantly.” 

Adkisson says the HPV virus is the leading cause of cervical cancer and the only way to know if you have HPV is by getting tested. HPV stands for human papilloma virus.

Chelsea Rentfro is the breast and cervical cancer coordinator for Community Health and Emergency Services of Illinois. CHESI has a program very similar to the one in Cape Girardeau. It is in Cairo, Illinois and called the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program.  

“About one in eight women are going to have breast cancer at some point in their life,” said Rentfro.

Getting your exams are very important for both cervical and breast cancer because if caught earlier the prognosis is much better than if caught late.

Click here for more information on the Show Me Healthy Women Program

Click here for more information on the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program.