Cancer is without prejudice. Race, religion, color, culture, or nation of origin. Cancer doesn't care. It is an indiscriminate killer that has no remorse for those it kills or the grief it cause.

At one time 1 in 3 could be expect to be stricken by this taker of life but recent figures now show that 1 in 2 people can anticipate a diagnosis of cancer over the course of their lifetime.

Florida has the second highest rate in the nation of new cancer cases and cancer-related deaths. Our South Florida communities account for over 28% of Florida's new cancer cases and over 27% of the state's cancer-related deaths. And with good cause we believe those percentages to be conservative with the actual numbers being far greater. The South Florida Cancer Association is dedicated to reduce both the rate of new cancer cases and the number of cancer-related deaths within South Florida communities.

Pathways2Healing - South Florida has one of the most diverse multicultural populations in the United States. Unfortunately, it also has one of the highest cancer rates in the nation. In large part this is due to the lack of cancer-related information being made available within the local communities in the language of that community. For example, almost 500,000 of Miami-Dade County's population admit to not speaking English very well or at all.

Florida such as Brazilian Portuguese, English, French, Haitian Creole, and Spanish. Distribution is by placement in high-traffic retail outlets within the local communities and neighborhoods and the information placed is in the language most common to that area. This assures that the those women who live in that community have the information they need in their own language.

Project SCREEN - was intiated in the late-90's by the Miami-Dade County Health Department. The Miami-Dade/Monroe county areas have long had a history of having a large population of those economically disadvantaged. Project SCREEN began with the mission of providing women in need of cancer screening the opportunity to obtain low or no cost screening if they qualified. The Initial and Rescreen Target number to be screened since the program's inception is 9,898 women. The actual total has been 14,609. The number of women screened far exceeded the budget for the program.

Approximately 15%-23% of the women screened are found with abnormalities that require follow-ups and of those 7%-10% will need a biopsy and possibly treatment. In order to stay within the budget women who are in need of cancer screening may be delayed or even denied. To forestall this the South Florida Cancer Association has entered into a collaborative agreement with the Miami-Dade County Health Department wherein the SFLCA will pay half the screening costs for 1,000 women. This will enable Project SCREEN to provide cancer screening for women it might otherwise have to turn away. The 150 to 230 women of this 1,000 will go on to obtain their follow-ups and the 70 to 100 women who may most likely be diagnosed with something serious will have the opportunity to obtain treatment earlier than might otherwise have occurred without the early detection.

Every Woman Counts - The South Florida Cancer Association (SFLCA) provides cancer-related information to the women of our South Florida communities addressing those cancers principally effecting women such as breast, cervical, ovarian, and vulvar cancers. Included is who is at risk; how to reduce the risks of being diagnosed with cancer; the warning signs that may presage cancer; where screening may be obtained; explanations of the various types of treatment; and where additional information may be obtained.  Media is published in the various languages prevalent in South