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Home > News & Events > Are You Dense Inc. & its EMPOWERED Campaign Receives Grant Award from Connecticut Community Foundation

Are You Dense Inc. & its EMPOWERED Campaign Receives Grant Award from Connecticut Community Foundation

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E.M.P.O.W.E.R.E.D. ™

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Pictured above:  Yoellie Iglesias, Executive Director, Madre Latina, Donna Gentilozzi, Community Liaison, Are You Dense Inc.,
Dr. Nancy Cappello, Founder & Director, Are You Dense Inc., & Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc. & Paula Van Ness, CEO Connecticut Community Foundation

Early Matters:  Providing Opportunity With Educational Resources for Early Detection: Reducing Disparities in Breast Health for Hispanic/Latina Women

 
Connecticut Community Foundation Awards Grant to Are You Dense Inc.
 
 

The Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Community Foundation (CCF) awarded Are You Dense Inc., $9,500.00 to expand its current Breast Health education campaigns to Latina/Hispanic women in the Waterbury Community.  "I am honored that the Connecticut Community Foundation, acknowledging our global impact in breast health education, is supporting an expanded campaign with a focus on the Latina/Hispanic community," reports Dr. Nancy Cappello, Founder and Director of Are You Dense Inc. 

The EMPOWERED campaign has assembled a collaborative team to provide ongoing expertise in implementing EMPOWERED.  The EMPOWERED team includes Madre Latina, The Hispanic Coalition, Stay Well Clinic, Local Radiology Groups and Hospitals and Dr. Beth Jones, Researcher and Epidemiologist from Yale School of Public Health. Upon reading current research by Dr. Jones about Hispanic/Latina women in the state of Connecticut being less informed about breast density and its impact on breast screening and breast health, the Board of Directors of Are You Dense Inc. recommended expanded resources and programs to the Hispanic/Latina community.  "We must ensure that Hispanic/Latina women have access to culturally relevant educational materials and resources about breast density to be EMPOWERED to make critical breast health decisions with health care providers about their breast screening, " adds Donna Johnson, President of the Board of Directors of Are You Dense Inc.

As reported in Aunt Minnie, Dr. Beth Jones presented her research at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December, 2015 . She began a prospective study of Latina/Hispanic women after the enactment of Connecticut's Breast Density Reporting Law - the first in the nation.

"While disparities in breast cancer screening rates have narrowed in the US, screening rates continue to be lower among Latina women than among non-Hispanic white women. Hispanics face barriers in seeking cancer information from sources. I led a prospective study at Yale of mammography screening and understanding of dense breast tissue among Hispanic/Latina women in Connecticut. The goals of EMPOWERED align with our research results that knowledge among Hispanic/Latina women about breast health and, specifically breast density, is low, " writes Dr. Jones in her letter of support for the EMPOWERED grant.

In addition to expanding educational resources with Spanish translation and educational forums with interpreters, a Video in Spanish will be produced by an Emmy nominated Videographer.  In addition to Yale, community partners include Madre Latina, Stay Well Health Center, Hispanic Coalition and Greater Waterbury Breast Centers.

 GIVE LOCAL CAMPAIGN STARTS on MAY 3rd at 7AM/Ends May 4th at 7PM.

ALL funds raised directly support adjunct screening for women with dense breast tissue in our greater Community.

GIVE LOCAL - Are You Dense Inc.

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AYD In The News

What is Dense Breast Tissue?

How Do I Know if I Have Dense Breast Tissue?

What Do I Do if I Have Dense Breast Tissue?

  
  • Are You Dense? Fact #1:

    Breast density is one of the strongest predictors of the failure of mammography screening to detect cancer.

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #2:

    Two-thirds of pre-menopausal women and 40% of post-menopausal women have dense breast tissue. 

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #3:

    Adding more sensitive tests to mammography significantly increase detection of invasive cancers that are small and node negative.

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #4:

    American College of Radiology describes women with "Dense Breast Tissue" as having a higher than average risk of Breast Cancer.

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #5:

    While a mammogram detects 98% of cancers in women with fatty breasts, it finds only 48% in women with dense breasts.

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #6:

    A woman at average risk and a woman at high risk have an EQUAL chance of having their cancer masked by mammogram.

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #7:

    Women with dense breasts who had breast cancer have a four times higher risk of recurrence than women with less-dense breasts.

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #8:

    A substantial proportion of Breast Cancer can be attributed to high breast density alone.

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #9:

    Cancer turns up five times more often in women with extremely dense breasts than those with the most fatty tissue.

     
  • Are You Dense? Fact #10

    There are too many women who are unaware of their breast density, believe their “Happy Gram” when it reports no significant findings and are at risk of receiving a later stage cancer diagnosis.

     
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