As one of the largest cancer screening and awareness organizations of its
type in Texas, the "Gift of Life" directly serves more than 20,000 recipients
annually (in addition to publishing a program newsletter several times a year
that is distributed to over 15,000 people in Southeast Texas and beyond).
- Each year, cancer awareness information is disseminated to several
thousand individuals at over 70 educational outreach presentations and
area health fairs;
- Approximately 520 men receive free prostate cancer screenings;
- 750 medically underserved women receive free mammograms at Memorial
Hermann Baptist Hospitals in Beaumont and Orange; and
- 720 additional women are given free mammograms and clinical breast
exams on the UTMB-Galveston mobile van at 20 Southeast Texas van sites.
Access to follow-up care for eligible individuals who need
testing and treatment following their screenings is also provided. Further,
the "Gift of Life" minivan is available for clients who require
transportation to and from the organization's cancer screening tests and exams.
The "Gift of Life" offers multiple yearly programs, including the following:
Agency services were expanded in 2004 to incorporate these initiatives:
- ASPIRE, A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience, featuring M. D. Anderson
Cancer Center-developed curriculum introduced into Beaumont Independent School
District 9th grade health classes;
- the Prostate Cancer Support Group, created in association with the American
Cancer Society, which meets monthly and now includes more than 150 members;
- Testicular Cancer Outreach presented to senior males at area high schools; and
- Heightened Cancer Awareness Campaigns during both Prostate and Breast
Cancer Awareness Months that include billboards, bench bulletins at bus
stops, yard signs, community posters (in English and Spanish), library
displays, and a partnership with McDonald's and Golden Triangle Cycle
Center, resulting in more than 15,000 trayliners that offer special
breast and prostate cancer messages used at all 24 Southeast Texas McDonald's
locations.
"Don't Smoke Your Life Away," a community-wide anti-smoking campaign
targeting both adults and adolescents was launched in 2005.