Published: August 01, 2008 03:14 pm      

FREE SCREENING: Niagara County program saves lives

Norine Ciemny was able to make it to her recent wedding with a peaceful heart. Betty Sweitzer went back to beating some of the younger players in her Niagara Falls pool league.

Both women had their minds put at ease by a Niagara County program that provides medical screening to those who otherwise might not be able to afford it.

The program, called the Healthy Living Partnership, provides free mammograms, pap smears and colorectal screening for residents who do not have insurance or who are underinsured.

For Ciemny, of North Tonawanda, the program made all the difference in the world. She was newly divorced and uninsured when she found two lumps in her breast.

“I knew I was in trouble without insurance. I didn’t know what to do,” she said.

She started calling around and came across Healthy Living. Tests were set up, and almost three years ago — after three surgeries and a round of chemotherapy under the care of who she calls some of the best doctors in the business — she was given a clean bill of health.

“They never questioned any treatment,” she said of the program. The only bill she received was for $36.

In her challenge to save her own life, she found the support of Healthy Living to be a “miracle.”

“They were phenomenal,” she said.

When Ciemny found a job, working as a paint and decorating manager for Lowe’s, her insurance did not cover pre-existing conditions for a year. Healthy Living continued to get her coverage for the drugs that helped to keep her cancer free.

Recently remarried, Ciemny is intent on spreading the word about Healthy Living, understanding that it is sometimes hard for people to accept help from the government.

“We’ve always worked and paid our taxes, and look at this incredible program that they have. It probably saved my life,” she said.

Sweitzer, of Niagara Falls, who lost her health care when she returned to the area from Las Vegas, also thought it would be difficult to accept government help. Regardless, a bout with cervical cancer in 1973 demands she be relentless about cancer screenings.

“You don't like going into an office and saying I don’t have insurance ... I don't know about other people, but I feel funny,” she said. “But everybody was wonderful.”

Her experience with the staff at Healthy Living left her impressed with the service. Even after she started a new job at a Wheatfield computer chip manufacturer which provided health insurance, the staff kept up with her.

“(A staff member) called me six months later to remind me of my follow-up screening,” she said.

Like Ciemny, she wants to spread the word about the Healthy Living.

“I told everybody I could think of,” Sweitzer said.

That kind of response is helping Healthy Living exceed its goals to get people screened and decrease cancer deaths, according to Claudia Kurtzworth, coordinator of the program, which began in 2003 with funding from the state Department of Health.

“We have won state recognition for achieving a higher number screening goal than expected,” she said. This year, 400 people have been screened, and the goal is 900.

“We would love to exceed that goal,” she said.

The program will help those who qualify get screened for breast, cervical and colon cancer, including home screening kits. Any required treatment is also funded, and those who don’t have health insurance will be assisted in finding insurance.

“We don’t want people to put off any of their screenings just because they think they’re not eligible,” Kurtzworth said. “We would much rather have people call and make sure people get connected.”

Editor’s note: a similar program for Erie County residents is called The Partners for Prevention: Cancer Screening Services of Erie County. The phone number is 886-9201.

Contact editor Michele DeLucaat 693-1000, ext. 157.