Help Coloradans Fight Breast Cancer and Other Cancers by “Checking
Off” on This Year’s Tax Form
February
15, 2008—Denver—Placing a check mark on line 46 of your
2007 Colorado Income
Tax Form will help reduce mortality from breast and
reproductive cancers
by improving earlier detection through education and
personal advocacy,
and by expanding existing screening, treatment and support
programs.
The donation will go to the Colorado Breast and Women’s
Reproductive Cancers Fund to help create a grant program
through the
Colorado Cancer Coalition in partnership with the Colorado
Breast Cancer
Task Force, Colorado Ovarian Cancer Project and the Colorado
Ovarian
Cancer Alliance. Every year in Colorado nearly 1,000 women
are diagnosed with
reproductive cancers and over 2,800 men and women are
diagnosed with
breast cancer. An estimated 17 percent of Coloradans are
uninsured and
many others have inadequate insurance coverage. Breast,
cervical,
ovarian and uterine cancers not only impact the men and
women diagnosed
but also affect their families, friends, communities and
places of work.
Nearly 800,000 Coloradans are uninsured and must rely on
state and
federal screening and treatment programs for breast and
reproductive
cancers. Existing treatment programs are severely inadequate
because
many people who need these programs don’t qualify.
While some programs do exist to screen, treat and support
Coloradans
with breast and other women’s reproductive cancers, more are
necessary. Various age and income criteria create barriers
to qualify
for most assistance programs and some of the services are
not available
statewide.
Currently, no comprehensive screening or treatment
programs
exist for ovarian cancer or men’s breast cancer. Education
is needed
for both patients and medical providers to increase
awareness and
referrals to the services that are available. Programs are
needed to
assist and support those who have cancer after treatment has
ended. To learn more about the fund and to get involved,
please email:
coloradobwrcfund@gmail.com or visit
www.coloradocancercoalition.org.
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