Group Health has been involved in breast cancer surveillance since the 1970’s. Surveillance at Group Health has three parts:
- Identify women in the age group for which breast cancer screening is recommended or as having some other reason (risk factor) to need regular screening.
- At the time each woman gets screened – has a mammogram – she fills out a breast screening questionnaire.
- Each woman’s information is grouped with all other women to look at the total number of women who receive breast cancer screening at Group Health.
Here is a brief history of the breast cancer screening program at Group Health:
- Starting in 1985, Group Health began sending reminders to all women age 50 and above to prompt them to make a mammogram appointment. They also sent similar reminders to women between ages 40–49 with breast cancer risk factors. Starting in 2007 all women 40 and above were included.
- Since 1985, the Breast Cancer Screening Program at Group Health has mailed more than half a million reminders to Group Health women.
- Each year 40,000 – 55,000 women at Group Health receive screening mammogram.
- In late 2007 the specific breast cancer screening reminder letters were stopped and the reminder was put in the Birthday Letter sent to all consumers instead. The Birthday Letter has other cancer screening reminders as well, including colon and cervical screening.