Senate president partners with UPMC, Bayer, others to host breast cancer screenings
Because Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward is a breast cancer survivor, she said she knows the importance of screening for the disease.
"When I went through my treatment, I could see firsthand some of the issues that women were facing," said Ward, a Hempfield resident who was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer in 2021.
Ward underwent a lumpectomy and also discovered she tested positive for what is called the BRCA gene, a DNA analysis test that identifies harmful mutations in one of two breast cancer susceptibility genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2, according to the Mayo Clinic. The gene mutation can lead to recurring instances of cancer.
"I went faithfully for my annual mammograms, which never showed it, and when I asked my doctors how long it had likely been there, they said between three and five years," Ward said. "I had fibrous breasts and I was never even offered an ultrasound. I'd been to my gynecologist the day before I was diagnosed, and they couldn't feel it."
Ward sprang into action both personally and professionally, seeking aggressive treatment and also working to craft legislation signed into law in 2023 that requires insurers to cover preventive breast and ovarian cancer screenings for high-risk women at no cost. The bill eliminates all costs associated with breast MRIs, breast ultrasound and genetic testing for the BRCA gene.
Pennsylvania became the first state in the nation to establish such a law.
Ward said it will eliminate high-risk individuals' out-of-pocket costs for genetic testing for the breast cancer gene, counseling for high-risk individuals and supplemental screenings such as breast MRI and ultrasounds.
Ward is partnering with UPMC, Bayer, the PA Breast Cancer Coalition and food banks in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties on Sept. 24-25, hosting sign-ups for breast cancer screenings and raising awareness about the expanded options available to women.
On Sept. 24, they will be at the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, 1 N. Linden St. in Duquesne, where a shuttle will take patients to the nearby UPMC Imaging Center in West Mifflin for screening appointments from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
On Sept. 25, they will be at the Westmoreland Food Bank, 100 Devonshire Drive in Salem, where patients can schedule appointments during the same time with UPMC's imaging center in Monroeville.
Food banks are hosting the event in order to offer their services to those in attendance. In addition, Bayer will raffle off VIP ticket packages to the Sept. 28 Luke Bryan concert, taking place at the Cunningham Family Farm in South Huntingdon.
Ward said she hopes the events will raise awareness not just for the screenings, but for the expanded options now available to women across Pennsylvania.
"One out of every eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year," she said. "But the earlier you're diagnosed, the more you can be helped. Having these bills that give women an opportunity to avoid copays so they can be screened and tested for genetic issues is so important."
