FAQ's on Komen SAZ

What does your local affiliate do? Where does your money go? Are we any closer to a cure? Your questions answered:

A letter to our supporters regarding the Planned Parenthood debacle.

Local news show Arizona Illustrated takes a look at the Planned Parenthood row and how it affected one of Komen SAZ's staunchest supporters. 

Komen SAZ's statement on Komen National's funding guidelines revision: “Komen National has revised its position over its funding guidelines, which will allow Planned Parenthood once more to apply for Komen funding. We would like to thank all of the supporters of Komen Southern Arizona who voiced their opinions on this matter. We remained in close dialogue with Komen National and passed on all of your concerns to them. We remain committed to our mission to provide breast health services for the under-served in Southern Arizona, and we urge Southern Arizonans to continue to support our women and men here, and our fight against breast cancer."

Statement from Jaimie Leopold, executive director, Komen SAZ, on Komen National's funding guidelines revision : “This week has been distressing and frustrating. We sincerely hope the Southern Arizona community, which has been so supportive of Komen SAZ, will continue to support us. We are committed to healthcare for ALL women and men and we believe that politics should never be a part of that.”

"I apologize... I made mistakes," says Komen National's Nancy Brinker of the Planned Parenthood debacle in an open letter to the Washington Post. See the full statement from Komen National.

FAQ's

Q: Why were you going to drop Planned Parenthood?
A: Komen SAZ was never going to ‘drop’ Planned Parenthood as a grantee. Planned Parenthood Arizona has not been a grantee of Komen SAZ. PPAZ had not applied for a grant from us during this 2012 round of grants. Were they to, they would absolutely be considered. Our grants review panel - the ones who decide where our money goes - is made up of a group of people from the Southern Arizona community who are independent of Komen SAZ.

Q: Why is Komen funding Planned Parenthood anyway?
A: There are communities in the USA that do not have the resources we have here in Southern Arizona for low-income women to get their healthcare. Planned Parenthood filled an unmet need for clinical breast exams and mobile mammograms.

Q: Where did Komen SAZ stand during this?
A:
* Several affiliates sent a letter to National saying they would not comply with National’s funding guidelines. This was also the position of Southern Arizona and we made it clear to everyone that our community needs, not Komen National, guide our grant-making process. (Our grants review panel is made up of a group of people from the community who are independent of Komen SAZ.)
We encouraged our supporters to speak out with their views last week and we communicated all of those to Komen National.
* Komen SAZ has made it clear to its supporters and to Komen National that it is committed to healthcare for all women and men. We believe politics should never be a part of that. We also believe that Komen SAZ's grant-making process is rigorous and transparent, and that grant guidelines should not be dictated by Komen National.

Q: Where exactly does Komen SAZ’s money go?
A:
* To fund breast health programs and services across Southern Arizona; to fund clinics offering mammograms and cancer treatment to uninsured and under-insured women; to raise awareness about breast health through education programs.
* For every dollar donated, 75 cents net stays here in Southern Arizona to provide these services. The other 25 cents net goes to Komen National to fund breast cancer research.
* 24 organizations applied for a 2012 grant from us (these are yet to be announced), compared to 11 last year. This year's grant requests total $1.47m.

* Since its inception in 1999, Komen SAZ has given more than $5.5m in local grants.

Q: I thought Race for the Cure raised money for breast cancer research.
A: The annual Race is our prime source of funding, and it’s vital for our programs. Last year it raised almost $700,000 in cash and another $400,000 in in-kind donations. The money raised helped us to make grants for clinics and other healthcare providers.

Q: You are all over the TV and radio. How much do you spend on broadcast advertising?
A: Nil. All of the PSA’s you hear on radio or see on TV are a result of a close collaboration with media partners. We get the air time for free.

Q: What does Komen SAZ do the rest of the year?
A: Our mission goes on all year round, to educate, fundraise, and raise awareness about breast cancer. We take calls daily at our office from women looking for help. Staff and volunteers are also working on community outreach and education programs, visiting schools, Girl Scouts troops and local businesses to educate them as well. And we are nvolved with legislators in a bill that would make the state’s healthcare system easier for under-insured and uninsured women to navigate. For more about what we do, and our history, click here.

Q: How important are these services?
A:
* They’ve never been more important. Cuts to the AHCCCS program have meant the door has closed on many more women in Southern Arizona; we have had the increase in calls at our offices to prove it.
* Only 40%  of women eligible for a mammogram are getting them in Southern Arizona.
* Our five-year survival rate for early stage breast cancer is 89% in Southern Arizona, compared to the 98% national average. For a summary of Southern Arizona's breast cancer needs, read Komen SAZ's 2011 Community Profile Report.

Q: What are your aims/messages?
A’s:
* To end breast cancer forever

* Early detection is the best protection, especially with annual mammography rates still lingering at around 50%.

* Susan G. Komen for the Cure Southern Arizona aims to improve early detection rates in women by at least 10% by 2013.

* Komen SAZ is collaborating with the Phoenix affiliate and ADHS (Arizona Dept of Health Services) to create a Promise Collaborative, to make sure resources go towards improving the reporting and surveillance of breast cancer.

* To continue to help Southern Arizonans. Those we speak to say they need aid, both financial and emotional – from help with daycare to increased services in rural areas, to support groups.


Q: Are you any closer to a cure?
A: Breast cancer research is one of the most exciting in the medical field. Scientists are looking at how genes are linked with tumor growth, and realizing that breast cancer isn’t breast cancer singular, but breast cancers plural; some more aggressive than others – and therefore need targeted therapy.

Komen nationally committed $55m to breast cancer research this year, including work on developing a breast cancer vaccine.

Although breast cancer is growing at an alarming rate, and fastest in low-resource countries, rates of death appear to be slowing globally. Which underlines our message that early screening and early treatment are key.