Free Mammograms for Low Income Women


Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program

Southern Illinois Healthcare facilities participate in the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program. This program offers free mammograms, breast exams, pelvic exams and Pap tests to eligible women at The Breast Center, The Women’s Diagnostic Center, St. Joseph Memorial Hospital, and Miners Memorial Health Center.

The program is funded cooperatively by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health. It was created to provide breast and cervical cancer screening and referrals to low- income, uninsured women. Since the program was launched in Illinois in 1995, almost 35,000 women have been screened for breast and cervical cancers.

To be eligible, women must meet the following requirements:

  • Women who live in Illinois
  • Do not have health insurance
  • Women between the ages of 40 and 64 for mammograms and breast exams and between 35-64 for pelvic exams and Pap tests
  • Women meeting certain income limits
  • Women who are not Medicaid-eligible

For additional information on the program and for specific information on how to enroll, call the Illinois Department of Public Health Women’s Health Line at 888- 522-1282 or visit their website at www.idph.state.il.us. Be sure to ask for your free mammography to be done at an SIH facility.