The Avon Community Help Fund (ACHF) is offering free mammograms to women during this month; the foundation is also moving to provide this service free of cost throughout the year to aid in the early detection of breast cancer.
This is because mammograms are usually costly, and ACHF wants to bear the expenses for persons who may be suffering from the disease and cannot afford to have the screening done.
ACHF Chairman Mignon Bowen made these comments at a simple presentation ceremony on Monday when Digicel Guyana presented a cheque to the fund in light of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“We want to extend our mammogram testing for patients free of cost throughout the year and not only during October, and it’s much more costly during the year,” she said.
Bowen recognised Digicel for its valuable and important partnership, since its breast cancer awareness programme in Guyana started eight years ago. The institute’s October activities highlight awareness as the key word in disseminating information to women across Guyana.
She thanked Digicel for the financial assistance offered to the institute and to the Guyana Cancer Society.
As part of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, the Avon Foundation for Women provides funding to breast cancer programmes operating in three areas, which are scientific research, safety-net-access-to-care programmes for the medically underserved, and outreach programmes focused on education and screening.
The Avon Foundation has been improving and saving women’s lives, since it was founded in 1955. The foundation said it was proud to be the largest corporate philanthropy dedicated to women’s causes globally.
Through 2012, Avon’s global philanthropy has raised and donated more than US$910 million awards to breast cancer programmes around the world, supporting cutting-edge research to find a cure or prevent breast cancer, as well as programmes that enable patients to access quality care.
The Avon Foundation has grown into the largest corporate-affiliated foundation focused on causes that mostly impact women.
The breast cancer crusade was launched in 1992 in the UK, and now includes breast cancer programmes in more than 50 countries focused on advancing access to care and finding a cure.
The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has made a significant and lasting difference in this area.
