Cancer screening cut from state budget: Letter

As a breast cancer survivor, I believe all women in Louisiana deserve access to critical life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings and treatment. For years, the Louisiana Breast and Cervical Health Program has helped low-income, uninsured and underserved women gain access to lifesaving tests for breast and cervical cancer, but the funding for this program has been cut from the 2013-14 state budget.

The program currently receives $700,000 in state funding. By eliminating that funding, Louisiana risks losing the program's federal matching funds as well. This would amount to a total cut of $2.8 million. This funding cut would have a devastating impact on breast and cervical cancer care in our state, as the cut would result in estimated 15,556 fewer women being served.

Louisiana's state budget should not be balanced on the backs of uninsured and underinsured women.

Kathleen Judge

Volunteer, American Cancer Society