Amy Foundation Expands Program to Assist Uninsured Breast Cancer Patients

Following the death of his wife Amy in 2007 after a six-year battle with breast cancer, Kendall Park resident Arie Behar created the Amy Foundation to help other women fighting the disease.

Behar established The Amy Foundation that same year with a mission to help women over the age of 40, who are without health insurance, obtain free screening mammograms.  Since that time the foundation has raised over $200,000 and has helped about 1,000 uninsured women obtain a free mammogram.

However, for a woman who has no health insurance or other financial means to pay for follow-up testing, the diagnosis creates an additional nightmare.

“Such women live in fear," Behar said. "Maybe they have breast cancer, maybe they don’t, and they can’t find out because they can’t pay for it.” 

To help remove the terrible “cloud of uncertainty,” The Amy Foundation has donated $10,000 to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Foundation in New Brunswick to establish “The Amy Fund” which supports diagnostic procedures, such as ultrasounds, for women whose mammograms suggest the possibility of breast cancer.

"Some women get a result that says you may have something but we can't conlude if its cancer and an ultrasound is needed to identify if it's a tumor," Behar said. "They need that second procudure to determine if it's cancer or not."

Behar said providing support for the diagnostic testing is the next logical step for the Amy Foundation in helping uninsured women get the treatment they need.

"For a woman to go home after a mammogram where the doctor tells her that she may have something in her breat that's cancerous, but they can't tell for sure, what does she feel?", Behar said. "She's in the dark. So we want to come in and say we'll tell you for sure what is is. This creates an opportunity to let these woman know, okay it's not cancer and you don't need to worry about it, or it is cancer and you need to treat it. This is the next logical step for our organization and there are women in the area that need it."

            Since 2007, The Amy Foundation has partnered with St. Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick to promote awareness of the early detection of breast cancer. The Amy Foundation will also provide the follow-up service at St. Peter's and Princeton University Hospital, but free mammograms aren't needed at Robert Wood Johnson and Princeton since the Susan G. Komen Foundation provides free mammograms at those hospitals.

“We are deeply grateful for the contributions of generous organizations like the Amy Foundation,” said Lynn Lutwin, RN, Director of Breast Care Connection at RWJUH. “These funds will give us the critical support we need to provide access to essential diagnostic services, like ultrasounds, to many more women who may be at-risk for breast cancer.”

The Amy Foundation also sponsors a variety of fund-raising events throughout the year, including the each spring and the each fall.  More information about the Amy Foundation is available on its website, www.amyfoundation.org.

“Our collective efforts are making a real difference in the lives of women who lack financial means and we want to reach many others who need our help,” Behar said. “Support of diagnostic testing is a logical next step for The Amy Foundation and we’re excited and gratified to also be working with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.”