The North Ward Center's Family Success Center held a breast health awareness seminar for women in Newark's North Ward.

 

More than two dozen women attended the Sept. 30 educational session, which was developed by Family InterventionServices with a $15,000 grant from Novartis, the pharmaceutical giant headquartered in East Hannover.

 

The seminar was one in a series of 15 that will be held at Family Success Centers across Newark.

 

"Newark has the highest mortality rate in the state due to breast cancer," said Maureen Braun Scalera, the director Family Intervention Services' Center for Family Success. "It's not that women in Newark get more breast cancer, but they don't get early detection and treatment. They are more likely to die from it. We want to try to prevent that by having these educational seminars."

 

The session was led by Catherine Marcail, the manager of S.A.V.E., a mobile cancer screening, education and early detection program run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

 

Marcail told participants that breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer related deaths in New Jersey after lung cancer. Though it is most common in post-menopausal women over the age of 50, she said it is recommended that women start screening after age 40.

 

 Marcail said there were many reasons why women choose not to have cancer screenings including a lack of insurance, fear of the results, language barriers and a lack of insurance. The SAVE mobile van provides screening to women who don't have insurance in Essex County, she said.

 

She also encouraged women to perform self exams, which take no more than 10 minutes.Vanessa Bohler, the director of the Family Success Center at The North Ward Center, said she was encouraged that so many members of the community came to the seminar.

 

"This is a wonderful opportunity for women to receive this type of opportunity for education in an area where there seems to be so much apprehension and fear," Bohler said. "We're so thankful to Family Intervention Services and UMDNJ for sharing this information to people who might otherwise not have access to it."

 

Adrianne Davis, the executive director of The North Ward Center, said it was important to provide information about breast cancer to women in the community.

 

"We need to do everything possible to reduce the number of women who are dying from breast cancer," Davis said. "It's something that can be avoided with early detection."

 

The North Ward Center's Family Success program started in June 2007 and is one of 32 such sites in the state. Family success centers are open to any member of the community seeking support, information, and services.

 

Catherine Marcail, the manager of S.A.V.E., a mobile cancer screening, education and early detection program run by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, leads a seminar on breast health awareness at The North Ward Center Sept. 30, 2009.