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SAGE: Minnesota's Cancer Screening Program

The Sage Screening Program (formerly the Minnesota Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program) is a statewide comprehensive breast and cervical cancer screening program whose primary objective is to increase the proportion of age-appropriate women who are screened for breast and cervical cancer with these services:

• providing free screening and follow-up services to uninsured and underinsured women
  
• reaching out to women who may not have regular health care providers
  
• educating the public about the importance of screening
  
• raising awareness among health professionals
  
• developing statewide partnerships to promote screening
  

Sage was established in 1991 (under the former name of the Minnesota Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program) with funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). Funding for the program includes approximately $4.6 million from CDC, $1.1 million from the State of Minnesota, and additional funding from the Twin Cities Race for the Cure.

Since 1991, the Sage Screening Program has...

* detected 1255 breast and cervical cancers in Minnesota women
* detected 6711 precancerous cervical lesions
* served over 106,500 women
* provided more than 236,750 mammograms and Pap tests
* arranged for, or provided coverage for more than 35,100 diagnostic procedures for women with abnormal screening results
* developed a service delivery network of more than 380 medical providers around the state
* funded Community Health Service Agencies and community-based organizations to recruit underserved women for screening
* developed and implemented innovative strategies to overcome barriers to screening
* developed partnerships with key stakeholders to promote breast and cervical cancer screening

Minnesota participating providers

All information in this article comes from the Minnesota Department of Health website.