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$1.48 Million Grant for Cancer Prevention Project

May 20, 2015

Angelo State University has been awarded a three-year, $1.48 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to expand an ongoing project to provide breast and cervical cancer detection and prevention services to women of West Central Texas.

The ASU project is titled “Access to Breast and Cervical Care for West Texas” (ABCC4WT) and is overseen by Dr. Linda Ross, executive director of ASU’s Center for Community Wellness, Engagement and Development, and Dr. Leslie Mayrand, dean of ASU’s College of Health and Human Services. It is an expansion of the “Access to Breast Care for West Texas” project that was funded by a $1.12 million CPRIT grant awarded to ASU in 2012. 

The project will continue to be coordinated through the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health at ASU. Ross is also regional director for the institute. 

Dr. Linda Ross Dr. Linda Ross “The grant will provide continued funding for mammograms and other diagnostic tests aimed at breast cancer and will add cervical cancer detection for uninsured and underinsured women in 21 West Texas counties, which include the Concho Valley,” Ross said. “We are partnering with San Angelo Community Medical Center and other area hospitals that will provide the diagnostic tests. The grant will also pay transportation costs for women to obtain these services, and it will also fund a public awareness campaign targeting all women throughout West Central Texas.” 

“This grant provides the Laura W. Bush Institute the opportunity to impact the lives of women in the West Texas,” she added.  “Through our health care partners, we will be able to provide early detection for both breast and cervical cancer and prevent advanced disease. Through the existing grant project, 21 women have been diagnosed with breast cancer and over 1,000 breast cancer prevention services have been provided.” 

According to CPRIT, the cost of cancer treatment in Texas was $32.4 billion in 2014, an overall increase of more than 30 percent since CPRIT began calculating cancer costs in 2007. 

“The burden of breast and cervical cancer treatment and mortality,” said Ross, “can be significantly reduced by early detection via screenings and other tests and by chemoprevention.  Many women are not routinely screened for breast or cervical cancer, and even fewer are offered high-risk counseling and chemoprevention.” 

CPRIT was established through an amendment to the Texas Constitution in 2007 that also authorized the issue of $3 million in bonds to fund groundbreaking cancer research and prevention programs and services in Texas. Under the guidance of its Oversight Committee, CPRIT awards grants for a wide variety of cancer-related research and the delivery of prevention programs and services by public and private Texas entities.