Protecting Access to Cancer Screenings

Connecticut's Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program

A critical safety net that ensures that every woman has accress to the cancer screening that could save her life. 

The Connecticut Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides free pap tests to women aged 21 to 64 and mammograms to women 40 to 64 who are uninsured or underinsured and have income below 250% of the federal poverty line.

• From July 2009—June 2014, over 24,500 Connecticut women were served by the program. 3
• During the same time the program detected 130 breast cancers and 473 cervical cancers or cancer precursor lesions. 
• Over 67% of women screened for cervical cancer and 56% of women receiving mammograms were racial or ethnic minorities.

Breast and Cervical Cancer in Connecticut

• It is estimated that 3,290 women in Connecticut will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and 450 will die from the disease.
• An estimated 120 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in Connecticut this year.1
• Finding breast and cervical cancer at an early stage increases the opportunity for effective treatment and patient survival.
• Uninsured and underinsured women have lower screening rates for mammograms and pap tests, resulting in a greater risk of being diagnosed at a later, more advanced, stage of disease.