Breast Care for Washington has been open for six months.  During this time we have succeeded in providing care to all patients that have come through our doors, regardless of ability to pay.

We are the only provider of breast cancer screening, diagnostics and patient navigation to treatment, regardless of ability to pay, East of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., and the only provider of breast cancer services housed in a primary care setting in the entire metro area.  We are not alone in this fight against breast cancer in Washington, D.C., but we are doing it differently, and we’re making an impact.

You might ask yourself why that East of the River locale qualifier is important.  The reason is Ward 8 has some of the highest breast cancer mortality rates in D.C. Before Breast Care for Washington existed patients had to travel well outside of their local neighborhood for care.  We know that providing care to patients in their local neighborhood, in an approachable, culturally sensitive way is paramount to patients seeking and receiving care.  This is particularly true when dealing with breast cancer, which has many cultural stigmas associated with it. These cultural stigmas can be barriers to care. Our six month data shows that we are diagnosing breast cancer at a rate twice that of the national average and that the average age of our first time mammogram patient is 52: twelve years older than the recommended age for a first time screen.

Now is a critical time for BCW. Your support keeps our doors open.  We are exceeding strategic projections for number of patients seen, which tells us that there is a huge need for our services, but it is also a challenging time as we need to raise additional funds to keep our promise of offering care regardless of ability to pay. Please watch our video (produced by yours truly!) to learn more about what we have accomplished in six months and why your financial support is more important than ever.

  Our six month data shows that we are diagnosing breast cancer at a rate twice that of the national average and that the average age of our first time mammogram patient is 52: twelve years older than the recommended age for a first time screen.

This holiday season you can give meaningful gifts that support our local community and change the lives of women in Washington, D.C. Instead of buying material presents this year, your donation to Breast Care for Washington can be given as a gift to someone you love.

Here’s how it works:

1. Make a donation to Breast Care for Washington through our website.
2. In the “special purpose” section notate who you would like this gift to be donated in honor of and your address where you would like the card shipped.
3. Wait for the arrival of a card explaining your gift to your recipient this holiday season.

Alternative Gifts available include:

• $25: Provides gowns for 25 women to receive mammograms.
• $50: Covers the fee for a 3D mammogram for an uninsured/underinsured woman
• $100: Covers the fee for our radiologist to read three screening mammograms
• $200: Covers the cost of a screening mammogram for one uninsured woman
• $1,000: Covers the cost of a screening and diagnostic mammogram, and a breast ultrasound for one woman.

The monetary amount you spend will not be included on the card, as we feel the most important part of giving is the act of giving itself. The card will include the service that the amount covers.

We hope you will join the many who feel that the Holidays should be a time of true giving, a time to teach children that we all make our communities better when we give back, and a time to uplift those less fortunate than ourselves.

ABOUT BCW: Breast Care for Washington was founded in 2012 as a community-centered breast cancer screening organization to enhance access to breast cancer screening and care among medically underserved women in the Washington, D.C. area. Our founders are two local women – Dr. Regina Hampton, a highly regarded breast surgeon, and Beth Beck, M.A., CHES, the former executive director of Capital Breast Care Center of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Our mission is to reduce the breast cancer mortality in the Washington, D.C. area by promoting access to breast cancer screening, diagnostics, and treatment to all women regardless of their ability to pay.

Our programs and services are innovative and embed breast cancer screening within a patient-centered medical home model of care.  In May of 2014 we opened a permanent screening center within a federally qualified healthcare center (FQHC) – Community of Hope. Our facility is housed in the new Conway Health and Resource Center in the District’s Ward 8.

Breast Care for Washington is the first and only facility to offer state-of-the-art technology with 3D imaging east of the Anacostia River and the first entity to provide comprehensive breast screening services within a primary care setting in the metropolitan area.