DALLAS, TX – The YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas, a social service agency serving Women, Children and Families since 1908, has announced the July dates for its monthly Women’s Health Services mammography and pap smear screenings. This program, entitled ENCOREplus, was created by the YWCA of the USA to reach out to women (specifically seniors and minorities) who face obstacles in obtaining high-quality, affordable breast and cervical cancer screening.
Ronda Travis, director of the YWCA’s Women’s Resource Center, says the women targeted for these screenings are some of the most underserved women in our community. “We want to serve the uninsured or underinsured woman with this program,” says Travis. “Other guidelines for this program include being between 35 and 64 years of age to receive a mammogram; over 18 for cervical screenings; have a yearly income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level; exhibit language, cultural or social barriers which hinder regular visit to a physician; and they have not had a mammogram or pap smear in the past year.”

Travis also adds that women seeking a breast and/or cervical cancer screening need to call the Women’s Resource Center and make an appointment. The program’s objectives are to provide education, referral and support for women. The ENCOREplus program has served over 11,000 women in the Metropolitan Dallas area with education and outreach, as well as screenings.
The July dates are: July 9,    9 a.m. to 4 p.m.    St. Augustine Church, 1054 N. Augustine – Dallas; July 11th, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Urban Intertribal Ctr. of Texas,    209 E. Jefferson – Dallas; July 17,    9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.,    St. Augustine Church, 1054 N. Augustine – Dallas; July 22, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,Seven Day Adventist Church, 1150 Fuller Drive – Garland; and July 23, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Mesquite Social Services, 1035 Military Pkwy – Mesquite.

In addition to health screening, the ENCOREplus Program provides free breast and cervical health education workshops and trainings for the community. Educational workshop information is based on recommendations from the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. ENCOREplus staff helps women take charge of their own healthcare by: Teaching women how to conduct self breast examinations every month; providing educational videos and other information about breast and cervical cancer; answering questions; including how pap smears, clinical breast exams and mammograms work to keep women healthy.

Referral services through the ENCOREplus program include: Matching women with local medical professionals for free or low cost annual pap smears, clinical breast exams and mammograms; Arranging for transportation, day care and any additional help women may need to get to their medical appointments; Helping women follow through with any further treatment deemed necessary.

If a woman is diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, she will be able to count on ENCOREplus staff members for: Help in finding all the information and services she needs; Group support sessions, where women undergoing treatment and in recovery share common concerns and questions about their health; One-on-one information sessions with an ENCOREplus professional.

The ENCOREplus Program is funded through three primary sources – The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation – Dallas and Collin County Affiliates, The Texas Department of Health Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, and the United Way – of which the YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas is an affiliated organization.

For more information about the ENCOREplus Program or any of the other Women’s Health Services provided by the YWCA’s Women’s Resource Center, call 214-584-2340.