Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Middle School PTO Fundraising Provides Transportation For Cancer Screening Program

Parkland Middle School PTO provided a generous donation of 32 gas gift cards totaling $800 to the McHenry County Department of Health’s Illinois Breast & Cervical Cancer program.

Parkland hosted several fundraising events in honor of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The result of that effort—gift cards which were presented to McHenry County Public Health Administrator Patrick J. McNulty.

The contribution from Parkland will help facilitate screenings, diagnostic tests and/or treatment for low-income women who lack the resources to get regular screenings, as explained by McNulty. He explains, “For many women, the inability to afford gas for a car becomes a barrier to accessing care. PTO’s generosity is greatly appreciated.”

The Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer program has made a significant impact on the lives of many low income, uninsured or underinsured women in McHenry County.  The program is provided at no cost to those who qualify (i.e., women aged 35-64 years old with no insurance).  Since 2008, it has served 2,835 women with 476 breast and 98 cervical abnormalities.  Additional tests found breast cancers in 6% of cases with 9% diagnosed with cervical cancer; all were linked for treatment.

For more information on McHenry County’s breast and cervical cancer program, contact MCDH at 815-334-0232 or visit www.mcdh.info

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