October 2024 Newsletter

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October is breast cancer awareness month, making it a good reminder to schedule your yearly screenings. Mammograms are the best way to find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat and before it is big enough to cause symptoms. Having regular mammograms can lower risks and help ease the mind of worries.

LifeCare Alliance Cancer Services offers mammograms and a variety of other cancer screenings, making cancer screenings accessible to all, regardless of insurance, finances, or citizenship. Our certified nurse practitioner can answer questions and offer advice on cancer prevention and care. In addition, we offer support services, including language interpretation assistance, wigs, one-time emergency financial assistance, linkages to other key services, and much more.

Thanks to you and your support, we are able to serve all in need with screenings, support, and more. To learn more about our cancer services, read on through the newsletter, filled with articles about how our cancer services is making strides in health equity.

Additional Articles from the October 2024 Newsletter

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Navigating health care can be difficult and confusing. After going years without medical screenings or primary care, many of our new patients express fear around the entire process. From an initial phone call and appointment to multiple referrals and overwhelming medical institutions, many patients can quickly become frustrated. Sometimes, they may even give up on seeking care all together.

Through our new partnership with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James), LifeCare Alliance is able to create a smooth and accessible process for cancer treatment.

Until now, LifeCare Alliance has provided cancer screening and diagnostic services independently, partnering with a number of medical and diagnostic professionals over the years – including Arthur G. James, MD, for whom The James is named and who served as medical director of the Columbus Cancer Clinic for more than 33 years. This new partnership with the OSUCCC – James centralizes and streamlines the breast cancer screening and follow-up process for the thousands of women served by LifeCare Alliance annually. Through this partnership, patients will have access to advanced screening mammography tools and an electronic medical record system for follow-up communication and care coordination.

Take, for example, the story of Tesiralyn. A regular patient at LifeCare Alliance Cancer Services, she recently had her annual mammogram, which showed a concerning mass. At that same appointment, our nurse practitioner Kathy Magee was able to schedule a biopsy for Tesiralyn at OSUCCC – James. Tesiralyn said it was a quick process, and within five minutes she had an appointment time and directions. Thanks to the partnership, she got the care she needed in an easy, streamlined, and unintimidating manner.

When she showed up for her breast screening, she was happy to see a familiar face. Tami Crum, the mammographer from LifeCare Alliance, was at OSUCCC – James that day to perform her screening. Tesiralyn had started the day anxious and concerned, but Tami talked her through the process, calming her down and gently performing her screening. Tesiralyn says she didn’t even feel a pinch!

Luckily, her screenings came back as cancer-free. Thanks to the partnership between OSUCCC – James and LifeCare Alliance, she was able to have a smooth experience filled with people she knew and trusted performing her screenings.

“I’m so thankful,” she says. “LifeCare Alliance accommodates me and schedules me. You are so friendly. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Additional Articles from the October 2024 Newsletter

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Social determinants of health is a bit of a buzzword floating around the health care industry—but what exactly does it mean?

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks” (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion). Basically, SDOH are anything that can impact a person’s health outside of genetic makeup.

But why does this matter? According to the National Cancer Institute, less than 10% of cancers have a hereditary component—the rest are born out of our environment. Research published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine suggests that more than 80% of health care disparities are caused by SDOH

Here are some examples of common SDOH:

• Housing stability
• Access to transportation
• Education
• Food security
• Health insurance
• Income level and employment status
• Access to clean water
• Air quality
• Internet connection
• Physical proximity to health care
• Spoken languages

Each and every one of these determinants can impact a person’s ability to access high quality health care, thus also affecting their quality of life. LifeCare Alliance Cancer Services addresses 7 of these 11 SDOHs, along with many others.

“When we think about cancer patients and helping to get them through treatment, it’s not just about the immediate need,” says Christin Brown, Director of Cancer Services at LifeCare Alliance. “It’s about all their needs as a person.”

SDOH can affect health outcomes around cancer in many ways. Consider:

• If Jonathan has less education around carcinogens, he may be more likely to be unknowingly exposed. Jonathan may know that sunscreen prevents sunburn, but not that it also prevents skin cancer. Since he doesn’t burn easily, he never wears it, even on long days outside, thus increasing his risk for cancer.
• If Rhonda doesn’t have health insurance, she may not be up to date on her mammograms. Mammograms are key for catching breast cancer at an early stage, when it is more treatable. Stage one and two breast cancer have an over 90% five year survival rate, compared to stage IV which has a 25% survival rate (Cancer Research UK).
• If Luis has cancer but no reliable transportation, he cannot make all his appointments, thus making it less effective.
• If Layla has to choose between paying the rent for their family’s housing and her cancer medication, she will likely neglect their treatment.
• If Nila’s family doesn’t have internet access, like the one in five Franklin County households, she is less likely to schedule follow up care and follow directions from her health care provider simply because she cannot access her electronic records (The Ohio State University).

“Social determinants of health are actually going to be huge factors in whether a patient follows through with treatment or not,” says Kathy Magee, a nurse practitioner at LifeCare Alliance. “If you can’t take the medicines prescribed, if you can’t pay for the meds, if you don’t have the health literacy to understand what’s being told to you, or if you don’t have access to healthy food, then your outcome is going to be a lot less favorable.”

So how can we address SDOH? By supporting services that address these gaps in health care, like LifeCare Alliance Cancer Services. We look at all aspects of a patient’s treatment, working to provide support so that patients can receive equitable health care. To find out more, check out our website or read more of our articles from this month’s newsletter.

Additional Articles from the October 2024 Newsletter

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Regular mammograms and cervical cancer screenings can be lifesaving. When caught early, nearly all breast and cervical cancers are highly treatable. However, a mammogram can cost as much as $549 out of pocket. In Ohio, most women have insurance or Medicaid and these screenings are covered at no cost. But for those uninsured or underinsured, finding the funds for screenings can be difficult.

Medicaid covers those in Ohio 138% or below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), but that still leaves many without coverage. That is where the Ohio Department of Health Breast & Cervical Cancer Project (BCCP) steps in. The BCCP partners with local clinics to ensure women at or below 300% of the FPL can get the screenings they need, regardless of insurance status.

LifeCare Alliance Cancer Screening & Support Center is proud to partner with the BCCP, enrolling more women than any of the 360 clinics involved. Our screening of nearly 2,000 women makes up for 13.2% of all BCCP enrollments. Through our free clinic model utilizing the BCCP program, community engagement, and addressing social needs, LifeCare Alliance is providing high-quality cancer screenings to under resourced women in Ohio at a higher rate than any other Ohio provider.

Our work here at LifeCare Alliance is changing lives, and the medical community is beginning to recognize that on a national level. Director of LifeCare Alliance Cancer Services Christin Brown and Nurse Practitioner Kathy Magee co-authored a research paper, “Improving access to breast and cervical cancer screening with a free cancer screening clinic model,” which is about to be published in the Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship. In November, the two will travel to Las Vegas to present their findings at the annual conference of the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators.

At LifeCare Alliance, we believe that Being There Matters™ – and thanks to our partnership with the BCCP, we are there for women when they need us most.

Additional Articles from the October 2024 Newsletter

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We often get the question: Can anyone get a mammogram at LifeCare Alliance, or is it only for the uninsured and underinsured?

And the answer is yes, absolutely anyone can get their mammogram or cancer screenings at LifeCare Alliance Cancer Screening & Support Center! Whether you have private insurance, employer-provided insurance, Medicare, or no insurance, you are welcome to come here for your screenings. In fact, when we are able to bill insurance for a cancer screening, that reimbursement can help offset the costs of mammograms and screenings for others in need.

With our new partnership with OSUCCC-The James, you not only receive high-quality care, but access to your healthcare information through your MyChart account. Scheduling an appointment with us is easy. Just call 614-263-5006.  We can usually get you in within a week. Plus, many of our clients share how seamless and smooth their appointments go at LifeCare Alliance. So, next time you need a routine cancer screening or mammogram, contact our Cancer Screening & Support Center to take care of your health—and support your community.

Find out more about what screenings we provide here.

Additional Articles from the October2024 Newsletter

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At LifeCare Alliance, we look at the whole picture. Our services don’t stop at providing cancer screenings or meals. We walk with clients through their difficulties, supplying them with durable medical equipment, wigs, transportation to medical appointments, and more. Our Holiday Gift Giving Program is one of the many ways we care for their entire person.

By sponsoring a client, you can give an individual or family the gift of joy this holiday season and relieve some of their financial burden. Here are a few different ways you can get involved:

• Sponsor a patient or family receiving cancer services
• Sponsor a senior receiving Help-at-Home services
• Create holiday gift bags for Meals-on-Wheels recipients
• Group and individual holiday volunteer opportunities at LifeCare Alliance or your site of choosing

To find out more and to get involved, email holidaygiftprogram@lifecarealliance.org.

Additional Articles from the October 2024 Newsletter

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