Funding received from two grants totaling $40,000 will allow the Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center to provide breast cancer screening and diagnostic procedures to those in the community who are underinsured and underserved.

The Los Angeles County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure recently awarded a 2011-2012 community grant to the Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center for $25,000 for the project entitled: Imaging for Symptomatic Women and Men Under 40.

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“We are very happy and grateful to receive this grant, which will allow us to help those who cannot afford early detection procedures,” said Terry Bucknall, director of the Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center. “Those individuals who benefit from this grant would not otherwise qualify for any kind of state and local funding.”

The grant is for women and men under age 40 who need imaging services and breast cancer care due to a high risk or strong family history of the disease.

Since the grant is for symptomatic cases, the patients must be referred by a doctor, Bucknall said.  Her team works with local clinics that refer patients to the Breast Imaging Center from the Northeast Valley Health Corporation and the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center and medical facilities within the territory of the Susan G. Komen Los Angeles Affiliate.

Bucknall said the grant will allow the Breast Imaging Center to help up to 150 patients.

The grant money will pay for screenings, diagnostic procedures and educational materials.

Since its founding in 2002, the Breast Imaging Center has received $230,000 in Komen grants. The first grant was awarded in April 2004 and one has been awarded every year since then.

The Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center also received a $15,000 grant from Boston Scientific to provide breast health services for uninsured and underinsured women and men of any age. It will help about 48 patients. The money will pay for about 60 screenings and diagnostic procedures, educational materials at health fairs and community educational presentations, Bucknall said.

In line with its corporate mission to help clinicians improve patients’ lives through medical innovation, Boston Scientific supports global, national and local health and education initiatives.

“There is a great need to help this particular population,” Bucknall said. “Henry Mayo can be a leader in providing community service to those who cannot afford it and give access to life saving procedures,” Bucknall said.

Bucknall has applied for another grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

“Henry Mayo cares enough to reach out and apply for these grants and show that we are capable of serving the underserved population in our efforts to detect breast cancer at an early stage,” she said.

Designated as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology, the Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center was created through the experiences of breast cancer survivors and designed with a woman’s physical and emotional needs in mind.

The Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center has its own entrance, a home-like atmosphere, and friendly staff. Located on Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital’s campus, the center offers the latest digital technology, highly skilled medical and technical professionals, and input and collegial consultancy from the area’s leading oncologists and other medical specialists.

Appointments can be scheduled Monday through Friday, including lunchtimes and into the evening, as well as some weekends, by calling 661-253-8822. The Imaging Center is located at 23929 McBean Parkway, Suite 101, Valencia.

For more information about the Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging, please visit www.henrymayo.com.