Elderly Health Screening Service, Inc.


EHSS & Breast Cancer


National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign


In 1990, EHSS led the first national campaign on the incidence of breast cancer in women aged 60 and over.   This was an issue that no national organization was addressing.    A series of posters alerting women to the importance of early detection featured Lena Horne, Jean Simmons, Olympia Dukakis, and Roberta Peters.   The U.S. Office of the Administration on Aging, the National Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control became actively involved in the promotion of the campaign.

On October 16, 1990, Governor's Day, the posters were displayed at the New Haven Coliseum.   Governor William O'Neill issued a proclamation declaring October as Breast Cancer Detection Month in the State of Connecticut.   EHSS received letters of congratulation from First Lady Barbara Bush and Marilyn Quayle.

The first poster campaign was so successful, that the Health Care Financing Administration requested a second campaign to make women aware that screening mammograms had become a Medicare benefit.   The models for the second poster campaign were Ann Landers, Ruby Dee, Jane Russell and Jessica Tandy.

Eight years later, each of the fifty states has a program in place that increases post-menopausal women's awareness of the breast cancer issue and provides them with free or low cost mammograms.   Elderly Health Screening Service is very proud of the cutting edge role we played in getting that issue the attention it merited.





Breast Cancer

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Elderly Health Screening Service, Inc.

161 North Main Street
Waterbury, CT 06702-1405
USA

Phone: 203-753-9284
Fax: 203-596-0640


Elderly Health Screening Service, Inc. is a private, nonprofit, 501c3 tax-exempt agency.


All donations gratefully accepted.

Copyright © 1999-2002 Elderly Health Screening Service, Inc.

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By Heronwing