HEALTH LINE: Find Out If You Qualify for Free Women's Health Screenings

A community service grant called the Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Project, known as the BCCP project, provides thousands of Ohio women with free breast and cervical screenings—and diagnostic tests if needed.

"The purpose of this project is to increase breast and cervical cancer screenings, thereby diagnosing those diseases in the earliest stages," says Beth O'Connor, a BCCP program director based at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine's department of obstetrics and gynecology.

The BCCP is funded by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), which mandates that these services are accessible at the community level to all eligible women. The Ohio BCCP grant, funded annually at approximately $250,000, was originated in 1994 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and since 2007 has received additional funding from the state.

The UC office is responsible for administering the grant in five southwestern Ohio counties—Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clinton and Clermont—and is one of 11 offices in the state responsible for implementing the program. The BCCP here, O'Connor says, screens an average of 1,300 women each year, with a 55 percent re-screening rate. 

Women are eligible if they live in Ohio, are 40 years of age or older, have limited income and are uninsured. Women who meet the program criteria are eligible for a free Pap test, pelvic exam, clinical breast exam and mammogram.

Women screened through the BCCP program may also be eligible for financial assistance for diagnostic tests and treatment.

About 40 percent of women enrolled in the BCCP program require additional procedures after screening, says O'Connor. 

Studies show that if detected early, nearly all breast and cervical cancers can be treated successfully, says O'Connor.

For more information about the BCCP program or to inquire regarding qualifications please call locally at 513-584-0053, toll free at 1-888-PAP-MAMM or visit the website

here.