Staff Writer

Are you a woman over 40 who has no insurance or a female under 40 with a family history of breast cancer?

Has it been more than a year since your last mammogram?

If you meet any of these requirements, you may qualify to participate in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer for the Cure Grant program at Wallace Thomson Hospital.

Wallace Thomson Hospital has a $46,000 grant to provide mammograms to uninsured and underinsured women in Union County. The grant will expire in March and at this point there is still enough money left to provide mammograms for around 200 women. The hospital also has reapplied for the grant and receiving it will depend on how well it was used previously.

“I know there are lots of people out there who don't know about it and don't know its available,” said Lisa Hartley, grant coordinator at Wallace Thomson Hospital. “We are really trying to reach the working poor - people who work for themselves or work part time and don't have any benefits or who work for a company that doesn't provide health insurance.”

Anyone who thinks she may qualify for the free mammogram may call Mrs. Hartley or Jamie Ellison at 466-0281. Mrs. Hartley also plans to set up in the community at grocery stores and other places to register women for the mammograms.

“We know it can save lives by having this done,” she said.