The Sacramento Bee
By Patricia Macht
December 3, 2024
As Tanya Benefield, of south Sacramento, was getting ready for work two years ago, she noticed a small amount of blood on her shirt.
“There were no marks, no bruising, no lump, none of that,” she said. “My breast was leaking. It came and went, but I didn’t think it was too much of a problem.”
The issue didn’t resolve on its own, so a few months later, Benefield, then-33, called her Medicaid provider to schedule a mammogram. The response, she now says, was the runaround.
Even though she had insurance and told the scheduler of her condition, the imaging department wouldn’t schedule it without a referral from her primary care doctor. And the primary care facility couldn’t see her for another four months.
Feeling helpless and hopeless, Benefield confided in a friend.
“She knew of an organization in Sacramento that helped a lot of Black women,” Benefield said, “and she offered to connect with them to see if they could get me a screening appointment.”
That organization was Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation. Program Manager Melissa Manzo got to work right away to find a workaround to get Benfield the screening. Instead of waiting months, Benefield was relieved to get it in six weeks.
After her mammogram revealed signs of a breast tumor, she underwent surgery and chemotherapy and spent a year recovering.
“Thankfully, I’m doing well today,” she said, crediting the intervention by Albie Aware. “If you need someone to not just be an ally but become an accomplice in helping you get tested and treated, definitely reach out to (them). They are here to help you — from that starting point of getting diagnosed through recovery.”
Now in its 20th year of operations, Albie Aware helps individuals get annual breast cancer screenings and provides support and comfort to those receiving treatment. It partners with the major local medical systems, which offer Albie a discount for mammograms and breast ultrasounds.
The foundation relies on contributions and this year it is seeking $2,500 from readers of The Sacramento Bee’s Book of Dreams to underwrite more screenings and support those diagnosed with breast cancer throughout their journey toward better health.
‘Ensure that other people didn’t die’
Sacramento native Doug Carson, a promotional product company owner, founded the organization in 2004 to honor this late wife, Alberta “Albie” Carson.
Alberta Carsons was diagnosed with breast cancer and thought she had beaten it. But three years after her surgery, the couple learned she had cancer in her spine, on her brain and in her liver.
“I became bitter that the doctor didn’t bother to offer an MRI to us when she was first diagnosed,” Doug Carson said. “The doctor said it was because insurance didn’t cover it at the time and his protocol wasn’t to offer patients to pay for it on their own.”
Had he known that, Carson said, he would have paid for the diagnostic procedure.
Ultimately, he channeled his grief into a determination to help others by forming the foundation.
“I wanted to ensure that other people didn’t die for lack of medical testing because early detection saves lives” he said. “Our organization not only can pay for a mammogram when no other source, like insurance, is available, we also can walk a person through the system, managing the medical and insurance side. We know the short cuts.”
Courtney Quinn, Albie Aware’s executive director, said that at any time in a year her staff is helping 20 to 25 women and men.
“Some of them may need help for a week to secure their mammogram, others may need help for months as they receive treatment,” Quinn said.
Boost mammograms
Recently the organization has expanded its efforts to reach Black women, who are 41% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women, she said.
More than 28% of women between 50 and 74 in Sacramento County failed to have a mammogram in either 2021 or 2022, compared to 23% of women in the nation, according to county health status information published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
In Yolo county, more than 28% of women between 50 to 74 didn’t have a mammogram for two years (2020 to 2022); in Eldorado County, the rate was approaching 25%; in Placer County 20% of women were said to be two years overdue.
Albie Aware works in partnership with all four of the region’s major medical systems. Its longest-tenured partner is Sutter Health.
At Sutter’s L Street location alone, 90 to 95 diagnostic procedures are performed each day. About 7% of patients are called back for further testing, said Dr. John X. Nguyen, a radiologist.
Hollie Seeley, Sutter Medical Center’s chief executive officer, said she is grateful for the opportunity to partner with Albie Aware.
“Catching breast cancer early boosts the five-year survival rate to 99%,” she said. “This service is very important for the health of our community.”
Book of Dreams
The request: Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation seeks funds to help reach out to women for awareness, screenings and support
The cost: $2,500
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To claim a tax deduction for 2024, donations must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2024. All contributions are tax-deductible and none of the money received will be spent on administrative costs. Partial contributions are welcome on any item. In cases where more money is received than requested for a given need, the excess will be applied to meeting unfulfilled needs in this Book of Dreams. Funds donated in excess of needs listed in this book will fulfill wishes received but not published and will be donated to social service agencies benefiting children at risk. The Sacramento Bee has verified the accuracy of the facts in each of these cases and we believe them to be bona fide cases of need. However, The Bee makes no claim, implied or otherwise, concerning their validity beyond the statement of these facts.