Ovarian Cancer Grant Announcement 

(Published in the Daily Independent October 20, 2011)

Ovarian cancer project to begin in '12

Ky. first lady presents check to Greenup health department

Katie Brandenburg- reporter for The Daily Independent Thu Oct 20, 2011, 12:05 AM EDT

GREENUP — A $200,000 check from the Appalachian Regional Commission will help set up a free ovarian cancer screening program starting in 2012.

First lady Jane Beshear visited Greenup on Wednesday to present the money to the health department to help with expenses of the program, which include medical equipment and employee training.

Beshear said there was “no question” she would become involved in the University of Kentucky Ovarian Cancer Screening Project, which started in 1987 with help from the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association.

Beshear’s mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was young and later suffered from other cancers Beshear believes were related to her mother’s earlier bout with ovarian cancer. Her mother died when Beshear was a newlywed, Beshear said.

“I never had a chance for my mother to know her grandchildren,” she said.

Beshear said early screening for ovarian cancer will save lives and make it easier for women in northeastern Kentucky. She said they will no longer have to make the drive to Lexington.

Women are often the caretakers in Kentucky families, putting the health of children and husbands before their own, Beshear said.

“If we’re going to take care of everyone else, we have to make sure that our health is taken care of,” she said.

Chris Crum, director of the Greenup County Health Department, said he hopes to begin the free screening program at the department early in the new year.

The program will serve Boyd, Greenup, Carter, Elliott and Lawrence counties in Kentucky and Scioto and Lawrence counties in Ohio.

Greenup will be the newest among outreach screening sites, in addition to UK’s Markey Cancer Center. The other outreach screening sites are in Elizabethtown, Prestonsburg, Maysville, Somerset and Paducah.

The screenings are free to women older than 50 and those older than 25 with a documented family history of ovarian cancer.

Dr. John R. van Nagell, director of UK’s Division of Gynecologic Oncology, also attended the presentation.

He said while the screenings are done at satellite locations, he personally reads all the screens and women with abnormalities are contacted.

The program has provided more than 200,000 free screenings to women, he said.

Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, said her mother is a 12-year ovarian cancer survivor, and she sees the program as a “lifeline of hope” for women in the area.

Rep. Tanya Pullin, D-South Shore, said she pushed to bring the program to northeastern Kentucky and decided the Greenup department would be a good location because of the enthusiasm of the staff there for prevention.

She said the program will provide peace of mind for women who will know they can be screened every year. She believes the program will save lives because health providers can catch ovarian cancer in its early stages.

“I think the real story of this project has yet to be written,” Pullin said.

Go Back