KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Healthcare leaders in Tennessee hope to help more women have access to crucial breast cancer screenings. The free statewide program provides care to the most vulnerable.
Health departments across the state, including the Knox County Health Department, are in the business of breaking down barriers when it comes to life-saving and preventative care.
The Tennessee Department of Health created a program years ago called the Tennessee Breast and Cervical Screening Program, or TBCSP. The goal is to help low-income, uninsured women have access to "timely breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services," according to the TDH website.
Nicole Yates is the clinical nurse program manager for the women's health clinic at KCHD. She said more people need to be aware of the free services available to them, like the TBCSP, if they qualify for the care. To her, more awareness means more lives saved.
"This program has been around for a very long time, I think it's something that a lot of women don't know about, so bringing awareness is a great, great thing," Yates said.
To qualify for the program, TDH said people must be Tennessee residents, make less than 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, be uninsured or underinsured and meet certain screening or diagnostic age requirements depending on the service they need.
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If the care providers at the clinic are unable to offer all of the services a patient needs, like a mammogram, there are navigators who can connect the patient with an outside provider at no cost.
"So basically, a woman would come in with for an annual exam, the provider would do a clinical breast exam, and if in that visit, the provider found an abnormality, then we can refer out for a mammogram," Yates said.
Health departments across the state want to increase access to those services so there are no excuses not to get screened.
"I think the main thing is that cancer doesn't discriminate, so it's very important for women to get their annual screenings," Yates said." So this just brings awareness to the fact that they can get a pap smear and a mammogram if needed."
According to TDH, this program covered more than 14,600 breast services in 2023 and helped diagnose 164 breast cancers.
"I think it's just very important because we are able to reach out to a lot of families, we touch a lot of lives," Yates said. "So this program allows for many people to get screened that otherwise wouldn't."
To find out if you qualify, and to schedule an appointment for the Tennessee Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program, call your local health department. The Knox County Health Department's number is 865-215-5320.