The CCSS, which are the initials for Costa Rica’s public healthcare system, the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, is launching an innovative breast cancer prevention program targeting healthy women aged 45 – 69, said the institution this week.

By 2020, and with an investment of over 9 billion colones (over US$15 million), the CCSS hopes to have all women in Costa Rica in that age range included in the prevention program. The initiative is starting in the San José metropolitan area.

Women who are enrolled in the free and voluntary program will get a mammogram every two years as part of the agency’s effort to increase early detection of breast cancer, which has high treatment success rates when detected in its early stages.

The project is aimed at healthy women who are not currently being treated for any breast discomfort or problems.

Every year 1,200 new cases of breast cancer are detected in Costa Rica and the CCSS hopes to improve individual breast health monitoring practices with this initiative.

Women in the program will receive timely care if any problems are detected in their screenings, said the CCSS. Those enrolled will receive their mammogram results within 3 months, and will be referred to specialized care if any problems are detected, said the CCSS.

 

To participate, you must be a healthy women with no breast problems between 45 – 69, be enrolled with the CCSS,  and live in one of the following locations: Carpio / León XIII, Goicochea 2, Moravia, Tibás (Coopesain Health Area), Tibás – Uruca – Merced health area.

The program is starting in urban high-risk areas that have been identified by the CCSS, and will gradually extend to other areas of the country with higher than average rates of incidence and mortality from breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer experienced by women in Costa Rica, and also has the highest mortality of all cancers for women.

The medical profession considers stage one breast cancer to be a curable disease. Stage one cancers can only be detected by mammography as they are so small.