Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition celebrates 30 years of service
The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition is celebrating 30 years of connecting and supporting breast cancer survivors and their families in communities across the state.
The coalition began in 1991 as a small group of community volunteers led by Maureen Lauterbach, who was committed to decreasing the mortality rate of breast cancer in Delaware.
In 1997, it became a 501c (3) nonprofit organization to serve and empower the community by raising awareness of breast health issues through community outreach and education in order to facilitate the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
The coalition’s vision is to create a community where every person diagnosed with breast cancer is a survivor, and fear and doubt are replaced with knowledge and hope.
The coalition works to support breast cancer survivors and their families in Delaware by offering a variety of survivorship resources including: financial aid, personalized support, health programs, activities, and events with other breast cancer survivors to foster healing and recovery. It has developed and implemented programs tailored to the unique needs of different populations, including young women with breast cancer, African-American women, Latinas, lesbians and women with disabilities.
With offices in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, the coalition’s programs are designed to reach diverse communities to deliver messages that address their unique concerns about breast cancer and early detection. Recognizing the barriers of language, culture and economics, the coalition trains community advocates to provide support to those newly diagnosed through the peer mentor program. It also works to help educate and encourage women and men to take responsibility for their health through breast health presentations and community health fairs.
Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition partners with the State of Delaware to manage the women’s health screening program. It focuses on navigating patients with low incomes and those with little or no insurance to receive free or reduced-cost care at screening facilities across Delaware. The coalition has referred thousands of uninsured adults for free and low-cost cancer screenings, and has removed barriers to cancer screenings and treatment by providing certified healthcare interpretation, transportation and support services.
Today, the coalition remains the only organization in Delaware focused solely on breast health issues as they affect the women and men who live in the state. Coalition team members are also proud to serve neighbors in the surrounding communities in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. The coalition has grown from a handful of volunteers to its current team of 17 employees.
As a member of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition is represented on its board of directors and works to support the national organization’s efforts to research the causes of breast cancer, and pursue optimal treatments and cures.
For more information, call 888-672-9647 or go to debreastcancer.org.
