National outreach campaign encourages women to get mammograms.

2002 NOV 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recognizing that too many women forget to get their mammograms each year, hundreds of CIGNA HealthCare employees will make "house calls" to nearly 100,000 CIGNA HealthCare women members in need of a mammogram.

CIGNA HealthCare employees will be calling women during the month of October 2002.

"Early detection remains the single best hope for women at risk for breast cancer," said Dr. William Alexander, national quality medical director and chair of the CIGNA HealthCare National Quality Council. "The earliest signs can be picked up in a mammogram even before they can be detected by a woman or her doctor during breast examinations. For that reason, we want to encourage women to get their annual mammogram. Early detection helps save lives."

Begun as a pilot project in New Hampshire, CIGNA HealthCare expanded its Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Ribbon outreach program nationally in 2001 after hearing from one cancer survivor who said her reminder call saved her life. Last year, volunteers placed phone calls to more than 85,000 women members. Volunteers were able to talk live with more than 60,000 women, encouraging them to set up an appointment to have a mammogram.

In addition to the phone calls, the CIGNA Foundation will donate up to $100,000 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The CIGNA ...