The Komen Orange County Affiliate Treatment Grant Program provides women and men the opportunity to access services they need by removing the financial barrier that would otherwise prevent them from seeking medical attention.  The Komen Orange County Affiliate Treatment Grant Program, one of the few privately funded treatment programs nationwide, has helped participating non-profit health care providers provide vital diagnostic, treatment and critical support services not covered by state or federal funding sources for hundreds of underinsured or uninsured women each year. 

The Treatment Grant Program removes financial obstacles by helping to subsidize the following procedures:

" Diagnostic Procedures
Includes diagnostic mammograms, ultrasound, fine needle aspirations (FNA's), stereotactic or core biopsies, incisional biopsies, pathology, cytology, and other procedures to obtain a diagnosis.

" Treatment
Includes surgery, post-surgical wound care, prescribed medication, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy.

" Critical Support Services
Includes other obstacles not specifically defined as treatment or diagnosis that would inhibit the onset of treatment such as COBRA and insurance premium payments so patients do not lose their medical coverage. 

In 2005, the Treatment Grant Program funded more than $300,000 to provide more than 1,000 breast cancer diagnostic, treatment, and critical support services through non-profit hospitals, clinics and health centers throughout Orange County.  This vital program has been a safety net for women and men, mostly under the age of 40, with abnormal breast health issues.  Many organizations and insurance companies do not require or will not cover mammograms for women under the age of 40.  And while many programs now offer free or low-cost mammography for women over the age of 40, the cost of follow-up care, should an abnormality be detected, must be covered by private or government insurance.  Many people living in Orange County have neither.  For these people, there is no financial support for follow-up breast cancer services except the Treatment Grant Program.  The Treatment Grant Program ensures that no one is turned away from access to breast health care.

Funding is available to all Orange County Healthcare Facilities and Healthcare Facilitators that meet the Treatment Grant criteria.  To apply for the Treatment Grant Program, complete and return the Healthcare Facility/Healthcare Facilitator Application for Participation.  Applications are accepted year round.