April 22, 2004
SYRACUSE ---In May, the Onondaga County Public Library, along with 11 member libraries, teams up with the Onondaga County Partnership for Healthy Living (PHL) to encourage uninsured women to be tested for breast, cervical, and/or colorectal cancer. Staff at libraries participating in the "Ask Me" program will be wearing bright pink buttons (prepared in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese or Korean) with the message: "Uninsured? ASK ME about a FREE Mammogram or Pap test." Colorectal cancer screening is also available for men and women.
Button-wearers will provide an information card directing uninsured women to call the PHL, which coordinates low cost/no cost breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings throughout Onondaga County.
Women age 40 and older or those whose mother, daughter or sister had breast cancer are eligible for low cost/no cost mammograms, and women 18 and older may get low cost/no cost pap tests. Men and women age 50 and older are eligible for free colorectal screening.
"Onondaga County Public Library is proud to be partnering with the Onondaga County PHL to play a part in raising the level of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer awareness in the communities that we serve," said Personnel Administrator and Project Coordinator KyungJin Park.
With thousands of visitors per month at Onondaga County public libraries, the buttons, posters, and brochures will provide visible reminders of the importance of cancer screening.
In 2004, an estimated 215,990 new cases of breast cancer are expected to occur in women in the U.S., and approximately 40, 5800 will die from it, according to the American Cancer Society. Nationwide, 76 percent of women 50 years and older report they had a mammogram in the past two years. The nearly one quarter of women who do not have breast and cervical testing lack the access, awareness, or health insurance to do so.
Emma Owens-Richardson, Community Health Counselor for the Onondaga County Department of Health, said, "We partnered with the Onondaga County Public Library system because we needed to do everything possible to get women who have no insurance or can't afford health insurance to have free mammograms and screening for cervical and colorectal cancer."
The "Ask Me" program was designed by the New York State Department of Health with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to increase the number of women getting breast and cervical cancer screening, and to promote awareness and literacy about breast cancer. In Onondaga County, the program is presented in conjunction with the PHL.
Breast cancer can occur at any age, but it becomes more common as women age. Because 94% of breast cancer cases and 96% of breast cancer deaths occur in women 40 and older, that group is targeted for breast cancer early detection and education.
In addition to the Ask Me program in May, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation will hold the Komen CNY 10th Anniversary Race for the Cure on Saturday, May 8, in Syracuse. Last year, 6,211 people in CNY entered the race. Since 1991, the CNY affiliate has provided over $1.3 million to raise awareness and to fight the disease.
"Libraries are information providers and participation in the Ask Me program is a natural fit for the library since we are best at assisting patrons with their information needs," said Park.
To find the nearest Onondaga County public library, call 315-435-1900 or go to the library's Web site, www.ocpl.lib.ny.us
The Partnership for Healthy Living can be reached at
315-435-3653 or 315-435-2225
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