The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program has awarded a $20,000 one-year grant to Centro de Salud Esperanza to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer and to ensure linkage to screening for uninsured women . It is the first year that the program has received funding from the Avon Foundation for Women to support its work on this important health issue.

The breast health program Conciencia de la Mujer/A Woman’s Conscience at Centro de Salud Esperanza will educate Chicago-area women and refer them to low-cost or free clinical breast exams at Esperanza as well as free mammography through Esperanza’s community partners.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the United States, and the leading single cause of death overall in women between the ages of 40 and 55. According to the American Cancer Society, 9,090 new cases of breast cancer will be detected in Illinois this year and 1,650 lives will be lost. For more information on Conciencia de la Mujer/A Woman’s Conscience at Centro de Salud Esperanza, please call David Moreno at (773) 828-8270. For more information about breast cancer, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345. To learn more about the Avon Foundation for Women, call 1-866-505-AVON or visit www.avonfoundation.org.