Avon Breast Health Outreach Program Awards Grant for Vista Community Clinic's Breast Health Program

VISTA, CA, March 01, 2014 (Press-News.org) The Avon Foundation for Women's Breast Health Outreach Program has awarded a $50,000, one-year grant to Vista Community Clinic to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer. It is the 14th year that the clinic has received funding from the Avon Foundation for Women to support its work on this important health issue.

Vista Community Clinic's Breast Health Program educates North San Diego -area women about breast health. It also provides low-cost or free clinical breast exams and mammogram referrals for low-income minority women 40 and older. These women are particularly vulnerable to the risks of breast cancer, largely due to a lack of access to culturally appropriate health education and regular medical care. The vital program also provides support services to women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Since January 2000, the Breast Health Program at Vista Community Clinic has reached more than 43,000 women with information about the importance of early detection of breast cancer and has referred almost 19,000 women for mammograms and clinical breast exams.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, 232,670 new cases of breast cancer will be detected in the U.S. this year and 40,000 lives will be lost. In California, the American Cancer Society estimates 26,130 new cases of breast cancer with 4,270 lives lost. Nationwide, there is a new diagnosis every three minutes and a death from breast cancer every 13 minutes. While advances have been made in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure, early detection still affords the best opportunity for successful treatment. Programs such as the Breast Health Program at Vista Community Clinic help ensure that all women, including the poor and medically underserved, have access to early detection information and options.

"We are proud that the Avon Foundation for Women shares our mission and has chosen to support our Breast Health program," said Vista Community Clinic CEO Fernando M. Sañudo. "We are grateful for their generosity. With this grant, we will be able to continue our breast health services to the women of North County and save lives through early detection."

Since 2000, the Avon Foundation has awarded $76.2 million through more than 1,600 Avon Breast Health Outreach (BHOP) grants to community-based organizations across the United States, including Vista Community Clinic These programs are dedicated to educating underserved women about breast cancer and linking them to early detection screening services.

The Avon Foundation for Women and Breast Cancer Crusade

The Avon Foundation for Women, an accredited 501(c)(3) public charity, was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women and today is the world's largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women. The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which launched in 1992 and is led by the U.S.-based Avon Foundation for Women, has placed Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer; today, Avon is the leading corporate supporter of the cause globally. Avon breast cancer programs in more than 50 countries have donated more than $815 million for research and advancing access to care, regardless of a person's ability to pay. Avon awards funding to beneficiaries ranging from leading cancer centers to community-based grassroots breast health programs to support breast cancer research and access to care. The Crusade has enabled more than 18 million women globally to receive free mammograms and breast cancer screenings, educated more than 145 million women about breast cancer, and funded promising research into the causes of breast cancer and ways to prevent the disease. The Avon Foundation raises funds for the Crusade through the sale of Avon "Pink Ribbon" products, and through events such as the U.S. Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series, which is the Avon Foundation's largest fund-raising event. Visit http://www.avonfoundation.org for more information.

Media contacts:
Triveni Sheshadri
Communications Specialist, Vista Community Clinic
760-631-5000 x7196
tsheshadri@vistacommunityclinic.org

Kristen Clonan, Avon Foundation For Women
212-282-6797, Kristen.Clonan@avonfoundation.org

For more information on Breast Health Program at Vista Community Clinic, please Natasha Riley at (760) 631-5000 x 7167. For more information about breast cancer, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or http://www.cancer.org, or the National Cancer Institute at 1-800-4-CANCER or http://www.cancer.gov.

The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program

The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program is administered by Cicatelli Associates Inc. to support community-based, non-profit breast health programs across the country. These organizations were chosen based on their ability to effectively reach women, particularly minority, low-income, and older women, who are often medically underserved.

To learn more about the Avon Foundation for Women, call 1-866-505-AVON or visit http://www.avonfoundation.org. For information or to register or support the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events, visit http://www.avonwalk.org or call 1-888-540-WALK.

About Vista Community Clinic: With five locations in the cities of Vista and Oceanside, Vista Community Clinic provides high-quality, low-cost healthcare to more than 57,000 uninsured and low- to moderate-income members of the North County community. One in four Vista residents and one in eight in Oceanside receive care from Vista Community Clinic. For more information, please call (760) 631-5000 or visit http://www.vistacommunityclinic.org.