Cancer screenings to continue at Peconic Bay Medical Center

Suffolk County’s Cancer Services Program will continue to operate at Riverhead’s Peconic Bay Medical Center, thanks to a five-year extension approved by the New York State Department of Health.

The program — which has been housed at the hospital since 2005 — takes a proactive approach to health care by providing free cancer screenings and consultations to residents who are uninsured, under-insured or meet certain income eligibility requirements.

The program is funded by a yearly grant of $550,000 from the state department of health for five years according to the program’s executive director Maureen O’Connor.

“That money is for infrastructure staff and all that and Peconic Bay Medical Center gives us lots of other resources besides that to help us do that work that we do so without the support of Peconic Bay Medical Center that $550,000 wouldn’t take us all the way,” Ms. O’Connor said.

The initiative focuses on breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings. If an abnormality is detected, CSP provides a case manager to guide patients through follow-up diagnostic appointments.

“Having the Cancer Services Program at Peconic Bay Medical Center is a core aspect of our mission to expand access to advanced health care throughout eastern Suffolk County,” said Amy Loeb, executive director at PBMC. “Certain forms of cancer, often do not display early symptoms, so screenings serve as a safe route to early detection. We look forward to the continued extension of access to these life-saving services that everyone deserves to the residents of Suffolk County.”

The program started out as a purely breast cancer screening program, but has grown exponentially since it started, Ms. O’ Connor said.

“Once it came [to PBMC] it really gave us the opportunity to grow,” Ms. O’Connor said. “I can’t even compare how it was when it first got here, around the resources that we have, the growth of Peconic Bay Medical Center, the ability for us to get people services where they live, addressing all the issues they have around transportation and then growing the other portions of the program, the community outreach, really getting out into the community and engaging with the community, getting people to understand the importance of screening and then giving them an answer to how they can actually get those screens. It’s not just about telling you what you need to do but we’re going to be here to support you and help you do it.”

The United States Preventive Services Task Force  recommends women 40 and older have regular screenings for breast and cervical cancer. They also recommend that all adults 45 and older have regular screenings for colorectal cancer. The Task Force is an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine, according to its website. 

More than 38,500 individuals have benefited from this program and received access to screening services, including some 600 Suffolk County residents who had been diagnosed with breast, cervical or  colorectal cancer and obtained treatment services through the program.

“This team and this program is really a gift to Peconic Bay [Medical Center] it’s a gift to the community,” Ms. Loeb said. “We want to embrace this community’s health and wellness needs and we do it in a patient-centered way…more and more we are absolutely committed to bringing services, close to home for Eastern Suffolk County and this is just sort of another reinforcement.”

To learn more about what to expect from screenings and additional support options visit pbmchealth.org/care-centers-services/services/cancer-services.