December 8, 2005

PHD Receives Grant from CA.RE Foundation

Cervical Cancer Screenings Available to Area Women

Panhandle Health District recently received a $5,000 grant from the CA.RE Foundation, bringing the 2005 total funding from the foundation to $20,000.

CA.RE Foundation Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that supports cancer research, prevention and education in North Idaho. The grant funds will be used to provide additional testing and referral to a gynecologist for low-income women with abnormal pap smears.

"The generosity of the CA.RE Foundation is overwhelming," said Lora Whalen, Family and Community Health Director at PHD. "It shows a true commitment by the foundation to the health of women in our community, particularly for those unable to afford the high costs of health care."

Since 2003, CA.RE has provided $47,000 in funding for cervical cancer screening at PHD, and an additional $10,263 to provide HPV/Hep B education in schools. In addition to the CA.RE grant, PHD receives funding from Women's Health Check and Title X to provide cervical cancer screenings to women with no insurance and/or who have low incomes.

The CA.RE grants have provided funding for nearly 180 women to be referred to a gynecologist for preventative cancer intervention.

The five-member board of directors of CA.RE, all of whom are members of the local community, oversees the distribution of the funds from participating in the cancer clinical trials at the North Idaho Cancer Center.

The funds are primarily distributed to educate the nursing and research staff at the North Idaho Cancer Center; to improve patient education on cancer trials and cancer prevention; and on efforts to support cancer prevention in our community.

Dr. Haluk Tezcan established the foundation because he believes that through participation in clinical trials, North Idaho Cancer Center patients not only help to improve cancer care, but also give back to the community by helping to prevent cancer in the first place through screening and education.

"The CA.RE Foundation board of directors believes that PHD plays an important role in educating the public about cancer prevention, especially by increasing the awareness of communicable diseases, and by helping with screening uninsured women for cervical cancer, which is one the most easily preventable cancers of all," said Ayse Tezcan, spokesperson for CA.RE

For more information about cervical cancer screenings, call PHD at 415-5100.