A Decade of Change, A Future of Hope

You may also download a PDF version of the brochure, Celebrating Progress (PDF-352KB).

Letter from the Director

The Letter from the Director is available online. Nancy Lee writes friends and colleagues that the years 1990 to 2000 represent a decade of accomplishments by an extraordinary program. A continuing challenge for the future is to increase national commitment to providing screening services for all eligible uninsured women to ultimately reduce morbidity and mortality from breast and cervical cancers.

History

Recognizing the value of screening and early detection, Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990. This Act authorized critical breast and cervical cancer screening services for underserved women, including older women, women with low incomes, and women of racial and ethnic minority groups. The Act established the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Scope

CDC begins its 10th year of this landmark program, supporting early detection programs in all 50 states, 6 U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, and 12 American Indian and Alaska Native organizations. Screening services provided by the NBCCEDP include a physical examination of the breasts, mammography, a pelvic examination, and Pap test. The scope of the program has grown to include 27,000 health professionals who provide screening and diagnostic services; 18,000 health educators and outreach workers who help bring the important screening message to women; 7,000 members of a national network of supportive coalitions and partnerships with many private organizations who ensure quality management of the service. One such partnership, AVON, has raised more than $37 million to educate women and provide access to early detection services through its Breast Cancer Awareness Crusade.

Programs have paired with nontraditional partners to offer education and outreach in many community settings, including beauty salons, laundromats, and English as a Second Language classes. Diverse partners including Native American tribal leaders councils on aging and African American church groups have worked with the programs. Mobile mammography and the wide range of community partners have enabled the programs to offer screening to women on reservations and in rural and inner-city areas, as well as to women at worksites and shopping centers.

Ensuring that all women with abnormal screening results receive timely and adequate diagnostic evaluation and treatment referrals is a crucial component of this national program. Thus, diagnostic services funded by the NBCCEDP include mammography, breast ultrasound, fine needle aspiration, breast biopsy, colposcopy, and cervical biopsy. The Act that authorizes the NBCCEDP does not allow resources appropriated for the program to be used for treatment. In fulfilling their part of the partnership with the federal government, participating health agencies are required to identify and secure resources for diagnosis and treatment services that the program does not cover. The NBCCEDP-funded programs have subsequently expanded critical case management activities to assist clients in navigating the system and obtaining treatment services.

Accomplishments

More than 2.5 million screening tests were provided to women through September 1999, resulting in the following:

• Over 1.1 million mammograms provided.
• Over 1.3 million Pap tests provided.
• Over 7,300 breast cancers diagnosed.
• Over 37,000 precancerous cervical lesions diagnosed.
• Over 600 cervical cancers diagnosed.

Nearly half of all program screenings were for minority women, who have been traditionally underserved.

NBCCEDP includes 69 programs and has collaborated with more than 60 private, public, and federal organizations.

The program's purpose is to reduce mortality from breast and cervical cancers, and the success of our efforts hinges upon the identification and treatment of all cancers and precancerous conditions in the women we serve. The CDC and all its partners will continue to give priority to this critical aspect of the early detection effort, thereby improving a woman's chances of survival.

The goals of the NBCCEDP are to establish, expand, and improve community-based screening services by:

• Screening medically underserved women for breast and cervical cancers.
• Providing appropriate referrals and timely diagnostic follow-up, case management, and assurance for medical treatment for women with abnormal screening tests.
• Developing public information, education, and outreach programs to increase the use of prevention and screening services.
• Improving the education and training of health professionals on the screening process for breast and cervical cancers.
• Establishing mechanisms to assure the quality of the screening process.
• Monitoring and evaluating clinical services and program activities.
• Managing surveillance and epidemiological data systems.
• Linking with key partners in the prevention and early detection of breast and cervical cancers.

Facts

Please visit Facts for risk factors, statistics, and links to data for breast and cervical cancer. More information about the program's progress is available in the NBCCEDP fact sheet, The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program: Saving Lives Through Screening.

Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.