Debit card program raises funds for breast cancer

From the grocery store to the gas station, debit cards can be used pretty much anywhere. Last May, Rocky Mountain Bank and Heartland Financial capitalized on the convenience of swiping cards to fundraise for breast cancer. Last week those efforts paid off in the sum of $5,000.

Rocky Mountain Bank launched their Pink Ribbon debit cards to help “take a swipe at breast cancer.” Each time one of these cards is used to make a purchase, they contribute 2.5 cents to the Kalispell Regional Healthcare Foundation and the Billings Clinic Foundation. The Billings clinic also received $5,000.

So far the two banks combined have raised $27,000 in the fight against breast cancer thanks to the 2,062 individuals who signed up to use the card.

Part of the funds donated to KRHF will go toward helping the Save-A-Sister program provide mammograms and early-detection screenings.

KRHF President Tagen Vine said the $5,000 will allow Save-A-Sister to provide screening mammograms to over 65 women and support survivors of breast cancer with education, fitness, and nutrition.

Without insurance, a mammogram costs a total of about $355, and this cost is what led to the founding of Save-A-Sister.

“It is the only disease that doesn’t discriminate, and it’s really important to support all the activities we can to provide for those who can’t afford it,” Diane Kautzman, Bigfork branch president of Rocky Mountain Bank, said.

Save-A-Sister formed in 2008 as a community volunteer effort coordinated with help from Kalispell Regional Healthcare, North Valley Hospital, and the Flathead City-County Health Department as a way to promote breast cancer awareness through outreach activities, educate the public, and raise funds to improve women’s access to mammograms. They also support post-operative help for things not covered by insurance.

Death rates from breast cancer have been decreasing since 1990 due to treatment advances, earlier detection through screening and increased awareness. In 2011 there were 13,110 American women under the age of 40 diagnosed with breast cancer and 2,140 American men.

In Montana, 49 percent of women have had a mammogram screening in the last two years, and the national average is 66 percent. And about 85 percent of breast cancer cases are from women with no family history of it.

But with an annual mammogram, the risk of dying from breast cancer decreased by 30-40 percent. Annual mammograms mean early detection, and there is a 99 percent five-year survival rate for breast cancer that is only in the breast. But if it spreads to the lymph nodes, the five-year survival rate drops to 84 percent, and then to only 23 percent if it spreads to other organs.

For more information about Save-A-Sister, where to get a mammogram, or to find out about financial assistance, call their hotline at 751-7524 or go to www.save-a-sister.com.