to Thousands of Underserved Women in South Florida
West Palm Beach, FL, December 30, 2024 – As Cervical Cancer Awareness Month kicks off this January, Promise Fund, a South Florida based non-profit founded by Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, is racing to reach tens of thousands of women in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin Counties who are uninsured, under insured or have limited or no access to healthcare. The organization, founded in 2018, is dedicated to increasing survivorship from cervical cancer and breast cancer by providing guided support and access to screenings, as well as early detection, treatment, and beyond.
“The lack of early detection, particularly among women of color, is what we are finding here in our community where nearly 100,000 women are uninsured or do not have a medical home,” said Ambassador Brinker.
“Many women encounter barriers to screening and diagnosis primarily due to work commitments, childcare, lack of transportation, and fear of the costs,” she continued. “We co-locate our Promise Fund Women’s Health Program in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which provides access to Patient Navigation, pap smears to detect cervical cancer, mammography and breast ultrasounds and help women access treatment for cancer if needed. Plus, our dedicated patient navigators are there every step of the way—guiding women through the screening process and coordinating treatment if a cancer diagnosis is made—so no one faces it alone.”
To date, the organization has reached 40,335 individuals through outreach and education and has impacted the lives of 14,576 women through access to screenings, diagnostics, and care.
The Promise Fund arranged for a total of 4,735 Pap tests from June 2020 to August 2024 and, each year over the past four years, the organization has significantly increased the number of women being screened and who receive the HPV vaccine.
“A number of women that have received Pap smears through Promise Fund have been diagnosed with cervical cancer and we have been able to arrange for treatment for all of them,” Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker said. “This is why we do what we do.”
According to the American Cancer Society, cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women. The cervical cancer death rate has dropped by more than half since the mid-1970s because of prevention and screening, although rates have stabilized in recent years. The death rate in Black women and Native American women is about 65% higher than in White women.
Promise Fund gives special emphasis to working with black and Native American women to arrange cervical cancer screenings and early detection—this is the key to increasing survivorship.
Cervical cancer is mostly preventable through vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes 99% of cervical cancer cases. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women get a Pap test every three years starting at age 21.
Screening tests can detect cervical cancer early when treatment is more effective. When diagnosed early, cervical cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer.
“Early detection saves lives, and we’re working every day to make sure we reach our eventual goal of screening 100% of underserved women in our local communities. It’s the first and most critical step in ensuring these women get the early care they deserve,” said Ambassador Brinker.”
ABOUT PROMISE FUND
Promise Fund, founded in 2018, is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing survivorship from breast and cervical cancer by providing guided support and access to screenings, as well as early detection, treatment, and beyond. To date, they have touched 40,335 through outreach & education and impacted the lives of 10,114 women through access to screenings, diagnostics, and care. To learn more, visit ThePromiseFund.org. Follow on Instagram @thepromisefund and on Facebook @PromiseFundofFL.