Pink Courage: No Excuses Program

In This pink courage report Neile Jones has more "The No Excuses Program" At Washington Regional Medical Center's Cancer Support Home.

Runners lace up for the Komen Ozark Race For The Cure each April. But since 75-percent of the money raised in the event stays in Northwest Arkansas, the group is able to help women fight breast cancer - year round - with education and awareness programs.

"We are a grantee of The Komen Ozark Affiliate. And they provide all the funding for the 'No Excuses program. So they are literally paying for all of these diagnostic services and the screenings that we provide five times a year as well.

Susan Neyman with The Cancer Support Home says "No Excuses" is vital to our community, "It's critical. Those of us who have the benefit of medical insurance and regular health care take advantage of regular screenings, but there's a good amount in the Northwest Arkansas population, about 20-percent, who are uninsured."

And those women, along with those who are under-insured, can get free clinical breast exams about five times a year thanks to the program.

Once the dates are announced, just call the cancer support home and make an appointment.

Neyman says, "It's a manual exam. It's performed by medical practitioners and then if there is any suspicious findings and the physician recommends they have some kind of follow up services then we make recommendations and try to get them connected with the appropriate resources."