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Article published Jan 16, 2005
Cancer fight hits home for governor
ROBERT W. DALTON
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA -- Jenny Sanford
has lived with cancer for most of her life.The first lady's mother has fought
the disease for more than 30 years.Two of her mother's siblings died of cancer
-- one at age 40, the other at 60.And Sanford herself has been touched by
melanoma.Because of her family's history, Sanford knows the importance of early
detection."The key to keeping people from dying is getting screened," she
said.That point has not been lost on her husband, Gov. Mark Sanford. In his
executive budget, Sanford has proposed spending an additional $1 million to
expand the state's breast and cervical cancer screening program for low-income
residents. He also proposes giving an additional $1 million to the Hollings
Cancer Center for research."For us, it comes down to where are your resources
going to have the maximum impact in reducing the incidence of disease," the
governor said. "A dollar on prevention could mean 10, 20, maybe even 100 dollars
down the road in the cost it takes to cure."The additional funding for screening
programs is designed to remove the state Department of Health and Environmental
Control's age restrictions. Currently, DHEC limits screening to women ages 47 to
65 who are below 200 percent of the poverty level.Mary Lynn Donovan, president
of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's Upstate affiliate, said all
women should begin receiving an annual mammogram at age 40. Women younger than
40 should be eligible if they have a family history or other risk factors, or if
they are already symptomatic, she said.The change can't come soon enough for
Betty Wells of Spartanburg.Wells found a lump in her breast last spring and
began looking for an agency that could provide a free mammogram. She met the
income requirements but the Best Chance Network, which provides free screenings
under the DHEC umbrella, rejected her because she is only 41."It would have been
so much help for me to have that opportunity at 41," Wells said. "It would be
wonderful to lower that age requirement and help all women who need to get
mammograms, not just those 47 and up."Wells kept calling, looking for any
program that could help her. She found a lot of closed doors, but with each
rejection came the suggestion to call another agency.She finally received
assistance through Spartanburg Regional Medical Center's Breast Health Program
and was diagnosed with cancer in June. She underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy
and radiation treatment and is cancer-free today."I'm doing great now," Wells
said. "Regional was wonderful. They treated me well and made me feel like they
cared."Wells was one of an estimated 3,280 South Carolina women diagnosed with
breast cancer last year, Donovan said. More than 600 women died from the cancer
last year.South Carolina's breast cancer mortality rate of 27 percent for 1998
through 2003 was higher than the 25.9 percent national rate. The rate is higher
in the Upstate and for black women.Physical or physiological differences or
later detection could contribute to the disparity.Edna Metze, program director
for the Best Chance Network, said a major study would be needed to determine
exact reasons.In Spartanburg County, the mortality rate was 32.3 percent (28.4
percent for white women, 48.3 percent for black women). The rate was 30.1
percent in Union County (24.8 percent for white women) and 28.3 percent in
Cherokee County (24.2 percent for white women). Rates were not available for
black women in those counties because there were fewer deaths.South Carolina's
cervical cancer rate also was higher than the national rate -- 3.3 percent as
compared to 2.7 percent. Spartanburg County's rate was 3.4 percent, while rates
were not available for Cherokee and Union counties because of the smaller
numbers."Additional screening for cervical cancer is definitely needed because
that's a cancer no woman should die from," said Alan Waln, director of the South
Carolina Cancer Alliance.Steve Corso, a medical oncologist at SRMC's Gibbs
Regional Cancer Center, said early detection could help save lives.He's hopeful
the Legislature will follow through on Sanford's proposal."The best tools in
terms of approaching mass numbers are awareness and screening," Corso said. "A
lot of women under the age of 47 are being underserved because they are
uninsured or underinsured."Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or
bob.dalton@shj.com.