Komen grants help ease breast cancer’s financial toll

A sea of runners floods the start of last year’s Susan B Komen Race for the Cure. FLORIDA WEEKLY FILE PHOTO When Leesa Crapa was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer, she felt immobilized by the threat of financial devastation.

“My insurance company dropped me,” said the Cape Coral resident. “They said because I had family history and all this business that they just weren’t going to pay anything.”

Her boyfriend got online to search for help and they ultimately found it: the means to pay for medical tests, a mastectomy and ongoing care. Home from a therapy session last week, the couple shared a courageous laugh about her bald head.

“We’re doing fine,” Ms. Crapa said. “We’re seeing light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a freight train.”

Her treatment, along with many other women who are uninsured or underinsured, was backed by support from Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Southwest Florida affiliate. Ms. Crapa is being cared for through Lee Memorial Health System’s treatment and referral program, Breast C.A.R.E., which received a $209,350 Komen grant last year. Naples Community Hospital has a similar program, Breast Health Patient Navigation, which received a $92, 350 Komen grant in 2009.

“These grants are saving women’s lives, especially in this economy,” said Dara Leichter, breast health navigator for the Breast C.A.R.E. program.

These are two of 10 community programs to receive Komen grants last year, $963,000 in all. The grants aim to remove the financial hurdle in the fight against breast cancer. That’s more than 13 times what Komen raised just six years ago, its first full year of fundraising as a new Southwest Florida affiliate.

Komen’s popular annual fundraising event, Race for the Cure, has made it the region’s most visible and muscular presence in promoting breast cancer education, diagnoses and treatment. Last year, the race attracted 8,100 walkers and runners. Organizers are hoping for another record turnout at this year’s race, March 13 at the Coconut Point mall in Estero.

Supporters of Komen’s Southwest Florida affiliate have been exponentially more numerous and generous, but the number of breast cancer patients who can’t afford treatment in the aftermath of the recession is outpacing that growth. Groups are asking Komen of Southwest Florida for nearly twice as much as last year, a total of $1.8 million in grant requests for the coming fiscal year, starting April 1.

“Because so many people are out of work and the way the economy is, there is a huge increase in need,” said Bonnie Olson, grant chair for Komen of Southwest Florida.

One of the gaps Komen aims to fill is the lack of medical resources for breast cancer patients in Hendry and Glades counties. Others include areas of breast cancer treatment and education in Southwest Florida that may be overlooked or poorly funded. For example, lymphedema is a condition that breast cancer patients could be at risk for, even decades after their cancer has been in remission, if their lymph nodes are removed during surgery.

“There’s a void there for people that are of low means,” said Claire Hauenstein, president of Lymphedema Resources, a nonprofit based in Estero. “With an economic downturn, we’re seeing more and more people who are coming forward for assistance.”

Lymphedema Resources was awarded a $29,500 Komen grant last year to help cover education and medical treatment for uninsured or underinsured patients in the region. In addition, the grant paid to train two lymphedema therapists, and provide a six-week exercise program for breast cancer patients in Fort Myers and Naples.

Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, based in Collier County, was able to assess the risk of breast cancer and provide screening services for 818 women last year. Director Ena Mendez says that wouldn’t have been possible without a $157,453 Komen Grant. The Family Health Centers’ “Healthy Body, Healthy Soul” program targets early detection of breast cancer for lowincome communities.

“Every year the program has grown,” Ms. Mendez said.

She hopes for a larger Komen grant this year.

“Komen is really discriminating (about how they allocate grant money),” she said. “And especially in the last few years, They’re really looking to stretch their dollars, which is the way it should be. They are taking a woman from education to early detection, treatment, surgery, recovery and reconstruction. They’re looking at every single angle.”

LMHS’s Breast C.A.R.E. and NCH’s Navigator program are also asking for larger grants this year. Lynn Hurley, breast health navigator at NCH, was recently approached by a woman who didn’t have health insurance.

“She was crying because I was telling her about the community

resources that are available,”

Ms. Hurley said. “She said ‘I found a lump two months ago and I couldn’t do anything about it.’”

It’s a common fear, one she hopes to calm.

“They’re saying ‘what if I get a mammogram and I do have cancer?’” Ms. Hurley said. “‘What then? I have no money.’

“We want them to come in. Even if they don’t have money, that’s not an issue for us.”

Ms. Leichter has similar stories. “When they find out about this program, they’re overwhelmed,” she said. “You know at least that financial burden is taken off of them.”

North Fort Myers resident Sharolyn Clayton had no insurance when she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. The Breast C.A.R.E. program helped cover the financial costs of tests like mammograms, MRIs and CT scans, as well as treatments like chemotherapy, and medication.

“There are organizations that can help you to pay for this stuff,” Ms. Clayton said. “So I would say that for anyone with breast cancer, do not ever give up.” 

in the know

>> What: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure >> When: March 13 starting at 8 a.m. The registration tent opens at 6:30 a.m. >> Where: Coconut Point Mall, Estero, at U.S. 41 and Coconut Point Road. >> Details: 5 k races and walks for youth and adults, as well as a 1 mile Fun Walk. >> Cost: Late registration is available on the day of the race, $40 for adults and $20 for under 18. Visit HYPERLINK “http://www. komenswfl.org” www.komenswfl.org for more information, directions, and to register online. >> Grant money allocated locally by Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Southwest Florida in 2009. (This number represents 75 percent of the total grant money raised each year, which is spent locally. The other 25 percent goes to national organizations to research cures for breast cancer.)
2004-05: $74,000
2005-06: $152,000
2006-07: $306,000
2007-08: $448,000
2008-09: $823,000
2009-10: $963,000