In light of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Maroun Hayek addressed several points on cancer prevention and treatment at Thursday’s Greenville Rotary Club meeting at the Greenville Golf & Country Club.
Dr. Hayek led with two somewhat universally known, but essential, verities about cancer — the sooner it is found, the higher chances are for survival; and, the smaller the tumor, the higher the likelihood of survival.
To get ahead of or be on the winning side of either of those verities means that screening is crucial.
There are few cancers in which a screening cannot be rendered, but breast, colon, cervical, lung and prostate all have a screening or test that can be done to determine a diagnosis.
An accompanying verity, however, is the expense of health care coverage for countless people and how it is typically the one reason screening is put off.
“The reality of the matter is, with the cost of health care nowadays, which has been exorbitant for many years and is nowhere to be seen changing in the foreseeable future, a lot of people are unable to afford paying for insurance having the appropriate coverage to pay for the tests that need to be done,” Hayek said.
For those who are faced with that predicament, Dr. Hayek shared with the audience a few programs in Washington County in place to try to alleviate the burden of little or no healthcare coverage — one in which he said proves politicians can get it right if they intend to.
Every October, the Delta Regional Medical Center will offer a discounted mammogram price for any woman who does not have insurance.
At less than $100, the doctor’s fee and test is covered and any woman who has remote concerns about having a breast tumor and has no coverage could benefit very easily from it as it can put things into perspective from a health standpoint.
Another program, which Hayek said is “truly phenomenal,” is a Federal/Mississippi state based one called the Mississippi Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. The program, he said, strives for early detection of cancer in those women at higher risk, but it essentially serves any woman.
The program offers Pap exam screening services at selected health department clinics, Community Health centers and private providers to uninsured women between the ages of 40 and 64. Mammography screening is available through contracted providers to uninsured women between 50 and 64 years of age and women 40 to 49 are eligible for screening mammograms when special funding is available.
Hayek said there are two health care venues in the Washington County area designated by the program — the Delta Health Center, which has two clinics and the Department of Health Services.
“The Delta Cotton Belles offer a wonderful service specifically for women with breast cancer,” Hayek said, noting they focus on the woman’s spiritual and beautification needs, which are as important as her medical needs.
Hayek expounded on how hands-on the organization is in that they establish strong dialogue with women with breast cancer, provide the prosthetics needed, provide emotional support and reasonable financial support as a nonprofit organization that thrives on donations.
Hayek said he could not stress the significance of screening enough for anyone, male or female.
“Anybody with common sense will tell you the concept of screening is a very logical one,” he said.
