Buddy Check Three is a monthly series of stories to remind women to do their self breast exams on the third of each month.

Tonight's segment focuses on a large percentage of the U-S population -- the medically uninsured.

Channel Three's Kathryn Daniel has more.

Clara Wolfe And Emily Hobbs are comparing war stories...They're both in a breast cancer battle.

Wolfe's began four years ago when she felt a lump...For three years she knew it was growing but could not afford a mammogram -- until she qualified for a free one through the Breast And Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Clara Wolfe/Breast Cancer Patient; "Yes, it's a little bit hard to accept because I've always been one to try to find for myself but sometimes you just have to be willing to take help, from wherever it comes."

This time the aid was part of a longtime federal grant.

To qualify for a the program a woman must be more than fifty years old and be uninsured...A situation Hobbs has always faced.

Emily Hobbs/Breast Cancer Patient; "All my life cause I can't afford insurance, we're a low income family. We've got a certain amount we live on and we learn to deal with it."

Women who qualify get a breast & pelvic exam, a mammogram, and a pap test.

Terri Butler is the local coordinator...She says if a woman is diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through the program -- their entire treatment up through chemotherapy and radiation can be covered.

Terri Butler, R.N./Florida Breast and Cervical Cancer Program; "If I pay for the diagnostics, I can get them onto Medicaid to pay for the whole thing."

Butler arranges for about 500 local women to be screened each year.

Terri Butler; "I've had six diagnosed with Breast Cancer this year, and two with cervical cancer."

Emily Hobbs; "She's great, wonderful, you couldn't ask for a better person, she's right there for you."

Emily Hobbs is so grateful for the help -- she's completing her chemo now and will start radiation treatments soon.

Emily Hobbs; "I go one day at a time now, I live it to the fullest and I got my grandbabies, got my husband, my kids and there ain't nothing gonna stop me, I'm gonna keep going, cancer ain't gonna beat me, I'm gonna beat cancer."

For more information on the Florida Breast And Cervical Cancer Program, contact Terri Butler at 595-6650.Buddy Check 3 Free Breast Mammograms