Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 2, 1 February 1990 — Free mammograms for Hawaiian women [ARTICLE]

Free mammograms for Hawaiian women

Native Hawaiian women, age 35 and older, are being asked by the American Society to fill out a questionnaire designed to help researchers find out why Hawaiians have a higher breast cancer death rate than other ethnic groups. Most participants in the survey will receive a voucher for a free mammogram at one of four O'ahu hospitals. Hawaiian women may contact the American Cancer Society at 531-1662 for more information. While all Hawaiian women, 35 and over, are urged to participate in the study, just those Hawaiian women who are due for a screening mammogram will get the vouchers. Outer island residents may hold the vouchers and use them on O'ahu, at their convenience, in 1990.

The 500 mammograms for Hawaiian women are being paid for by funds provided by the Queen's Cancer Institute. According to the project's director, Brian Martin M.D., of the University of Hawai'i Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i, 60 percent of Native Hawaiian women will have died within the five year period following the diagnosis of their breast eancer, as compared to 32 percent of Caucasian women and 23 percent of Japanese women. These statistics are for women with node-positive breast cancer who were younger than 50 years of age at the time of diagnosis. Neighbor Island residents may eall ACS on Maui 244-5553, Kaua'i 245-2942, Hilo 935-9763, or Kona 329-7122.