The impact of the national breast and cervical cancer early detection program on breast cancer outcomes for women in Mississippi

• I examined a public health law to determine its impact on late stage breast cancer for women in Mississippi.
• I reviewed data over a ten year period to determine whether there had been any changes in stage of breast cancer diagnoses.
• The research design for the study was non-experimental due to the lack of control groups or experimental groups’ involvement utilized in the analyses.
• Findings from the research demonstrated that women screened in Mississippi were diagnosed at later stages of disease, when their outcomes are worse.
• Analysis of data demonstrated that disparity associated with disadvantaged populations continued to persist even when health care coverage existed.

Public Health Law 101-354 was enacted to reduce breast and cervical cancer morbidity and mortality rates via education, screening, and adequate timely follow-up. The program has provided breast and cervical cancer screening for hundreds of thousands of women, followed by the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Treatment Act, Public Law 106-354, which provided for treatment services for women diagnosed with malignant or pre-malignant conditions of the breast and/or cervix. Data were analyzed to determine whether women in Mississippi who were screened in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program have been positively impacted by the enactment of this legislation by detecting breast cancer at an early stage, when it is more successfully treated.