EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — An alarming new study from the CDC shows thousands of women are missing life-saving mammograms.
The CDC says the reason is due to socioeconomic barriers like access to health care, food insecurity and reliable transportation.
Now, there’s a greater sense of urgency from the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to educate the community about breast cancer screenings.
“We’re really hoping to activate the next generation in the fight against cancer,” said Kay Yow Cancer Fund CEO Jenny Palmateer.
At Shaw High School Tuesday afternoon, Jenny Palmateer says their group is focused on one thing, and that’s saving lives.
“We’re not going to stop until cancer is eradicated. There are a lot of ways to do that, and empowering this next generation is a critical piece of that,” said Palmateer.
The Kay Yow Cancer Fund began nearly 16 years ago by the late Sandra Kay Yow, who served as head coach of the North Carolina State University Women’s Basketball Team, is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, and had more than 700 career wins.
Yow also fought breast cancer for 22 years until her death in January 2009.
Now, Palmateer says they work with survivors like Tenisha Matthews to keep Yow’s legacy going.
“We partner with each other to educate and empower people in this community because East Cleveland is one of the most underserved communities,” said Matthews.
During Tuesday’s Kay Yow Cancer Fund’s Empowerment Tour, Matthews joined other survivors like Denise West, a Shaw High School teacher who has been in remission for five years.
“It’s near and dear, so I’m real passionate about sending the message to how important it is for screening and mammograms, early detection,” said West.
Students like Hunter Graham tell News 5’s Remi Murrey it’s important for him to spread this message, too, after he watched his mom fight breast cancer and survive.
“I want everybody, especially black women in our community, I want them to know that they can have help and like it’s okay. It’s okay to have this, and it’s okay to beat it. Just stay 100% positive,” said Shaw High School Student Hunter Graham.
In addition to Tuesday’s presentation, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund gave a $150,000 grant to the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute to provide more access to cancer care for under-resourced people.
