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The SC Witness Project provides two main activities: 1.) free breast cancer, cervical cancer and cardiovascular education programs that are presented in the community by Witness Role Models (WRM's) and Lay Health Advisors (LHA's); and 2.) cancer screening assistance to eligible individuals (please see resources page for eligibility requirements).

 

WRM's are women who are breast cancer, cervical cancer survivors; or cardiovascular disease survivors. Their presence as survivors is seen as a blessing and proof that cancer is not a death sentence.

LHA's are not cancer survivors themselves, but are women who want to work with the project to organize and publicize programs, network with community people, answer questions about cancer screening services and available resources, teach breast self awareness, and encourage preventive health services (mammograms, clinical breast exams, pelvic exams, and pap tests).

During a Witness program session, WRM's witness by talking about their experiences with cancer, stressing the importance of early detection and answering questions about their personal experiences, fears, and concerns. Program sessions address the fears and beliefs many women hold about cancer, demonstrates that the diagnosis of cancer is neither a death sentence nor a punishment, and provides participants with accurate, personal information about cancer, early detection and treatment methods. During the session, LHA's give breast and cervical cancer facts, inform participants of available cancer screening resources in the community, and teach breast self-awareness. All sessions are free to women across South Carolina.

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The cancer screening assistance portion of SC Witness Project provides direct assistance and linkages to breast and cervical cancer screenings. We partner with medical facilities across South Carolina to provide free mammograms and diagnostic breast care services and pap smears to eligible women in the state. We partner with South Carolina's Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the Best Chance Network, which provides continued treatment or referrals after an abnormal finding or diagnosis of breast or cervical cancer.