TO LEARN MORE

about becoming involved with the Cass Clay Food Systems Initiative, participating in FM Walk This Way, or volunteering with other communitybased public health programs , visit metroinmotion.org or contact Lipetzky at klipetzky@cityoffargo.com.

Words by Susan A. Stibbe

Kristi Lee-Weyrauch is the director of the local coordinating unit of Women’s Way. Women’s Way is the North Dakota Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. The purpose of the program is to provide a “good health opportunity” for eligible North Dakota women to obtain mammograms, Pap tests and other breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services.

According to Lee-Weyrauch, “Early detection saves women’s lives, definitely. Screenings are expensive when you don’t have insurance or have only a minimum-wage income. And women tend to put their own needs last. We provide a way to pay for breast and cervical cancer screenings for these women.”

“A woman qualifies who lives in North Dakota, is between the ages of 21 and 64, has insurance that doesn’t cover Pap tests and/ or mammograms or can’t afford to pay her deductibles or co-payments or doesn’t have insurance, and is not enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare Part B,” said Lee-Weyrauch.

Lee-Weyrauch provided the following story from the Women’s Way promotional calendar. Two sisters from West Fargo, Teresa and Carol Hannestad, are now enthusiastic supporters of Women’s Way. Carol had never been a fan of medical providers. “I don’t like doctors,” she said. She would have continued putting off consistent breast and cervical screenings if it wasn’t for one of her five sisters, Teresa, who persuaded Carol to sign up for Women’s Way in early 2014. “I looked at Carol and said, ‘We need to go in and have this done,’” Teresa remembers. “I literally brought her in.”

The results for both women were normal, however, their oldest sister was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer not long afterward.

Watching a loved one undergo a double mastectomy and struggle with the side effects of chemotherapy is difficult. “It scared me,” Carol said. “I don’t know if I’m next.”

The once reluctant Carol now embraces regular screenings as part of her future and will rely on Women’s Way to help pay.

Women’s Way clients are usually able to receive screening services through their regular health-care provider including doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. “They can go just about anywhere,” said Lee-Weyrauch. “If they have a primary, they can continue to go there since most North Dakota health-care providers have signed up with the program to provide Women’s Way clinical services.”

“We have hundreds of women enrolled in the program, but there are many more women out there we are missing. That is why we are trying to get the word out about the program,” continued Lee-Weyrauch. “I serve Cass, Trail, and Steele Counties, but there are seven other local coordinating units, so all of North Dakota is covered in our program. We rely on word of mouth from friends and family and our area mammogram services are good about referring women.”

Women’s Way help is only a phone call away. “Generally, my office assistant or I can screen clients over the phone and see if they qualify. We then send out the paperwork and tell them to make appointments. We watch for the reports to come back and then pay for the screenings,” said LeeWeyrauch. “If you find a lump or a skin change, just call. I will do my darnedest to get you enrolled for a least a year.”

If a woman is diagnosed with a breast or cervical cancer, she is encouraged to work with the local coordinator to determine if treatment services would be available through Medicaid Expansion or the Medicaid-Women’s Way Treatment Program.

Lee-Weyrauch, a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science degree, has worked in Public Health for the past fifteen years. She knows there is still much work to do to ensure North Dakota women have access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, but she also knows what a difference Women’s Way has made to its clients.

“The ones who come back and say ‘thank you, you saved my life, if not for Women’s Way, I never would have checked’—that’s what makes it all worthwhile,” concluded Lee-Weyrauch. [AWM]

TO REACH A WOMEN’S WAY

local coordinator call: 1-800-449-6636 or to reach the state office call: 1-800-280-5512 or 1-701-328-2306 www.ndhealth.gov/womensway