BANGOR – The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund has awarded a $10,000 one-year grant to Caring Connections, a cooperative program of the YMCA and YWCA of Greater Bangor (Bangor Y) and Eastern Maine Medical Center that is supported through fundraising efforts of Healthcare Charities.

The Avon funds will be used to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer and the availability of no-cost mammograms and other tests. It is the second year the program has received AF funding.

Caring Connections at the Bangor Y will educate women within a 60-mile radius of Bangor and refer those who are eligible for no-cost mammograms and clinical breast exams to Eastern Maine Medical Center. The program also provides cervical health services to qualified women through the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program.

Eastern Maine Medical Center covers the costs for women enrolled in Caring Connections who require additional diagnostic testing or treatment for breast or cervical cancer.

Since December 1996, Caring Connections has reached tens of thousands of women and men with information about the importance of early detection of breast cancer and has referred more than 800 women for mammograms exams.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the United States and the leading single cause of death in women between 40 and 55. Nine hundred to 1,000 cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Maine this year and about 200 of those lives will be lost. Nationwide, there is a new diagnosis every three minutes and a death every 14 minutes.

Early detection affords the best opportunity for successful treatment. Programs such as Caring Connections help ensure that all women have access to early detection information and options, even poor and medically underserved women.

“We are proud that the Avon Foundation shares our mission and has chosen to support our program again this year. With these funds we will make a greater impact on women’s health with our breast health education and outreach efforts,” said Rosemarie Le Gasse, director of Caring Connections.

The Avon Foundation has funded more than 1,000 community-based breast health programs in the past 12 years, including Caring Connections.

The Avon Foundation celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005. The foundation brings its mission to life through the Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Program and the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which raises funds and awareness for access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer.

Since 1992 the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has raised and awarded more than $400 million worldwide for medical research, access to care and support services, screening and diagnostics, and education and awareness.

The fund’s national advisory board selected Caring Connections at the Bangor Y as one of 122 new grant recipients nationwide in the 2007 cycle of Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund grants. These organizations were chosen for their ability to reach women, particularly minority, low-income and older women who are often medically under-served.

For more information about Caring Connections, call Rosemarie Le Gasse at 941-2808, Ext. 337, or visit www.bangorY.org and click on Women’s Health. For more information about breast cancer, call the American Cancer Society at (800) ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org, or the National Cancer Institute at (800) 4-CANCER or visit www.cancer.gov.

To learn more about the Avon Foundation, call (866) 505-AVON or visit www.avonfoundation.org to access the free printable “Breast Health Resource Guide.” To register or support the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events, visit www.avonwalk.org or call (877) WALK-AVON.