Gail Turley's heart dropped when she saw the woman planning to fill out paperwork for help with a breast exam.

"She was so young, only 30," says Turley, an R.N. and coordinator of the breast screening program at the Panhandle Health District (PHD). "No one should have breast cancer, especially a young woman just starting her family."

The woman had found a lump in her right breast five months earlier. She was married with two children, one just a year old. She had no health insurance, but the safety net in Kootenai County caught and supported her from diagnosis through surgery and chemotherapy.

"She's the youngest patient we've had and an exception to the norm," says Turley, who also volunteers as head of the Coeur d'Alene Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. "You can't assume breast cancer won't happen to you just because you're young."

More than 1,700 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Idaho each year. Of those, more than 300 die. Nationwide, more than 230,000 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 39,000 die. Only 5 percent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 40.

An increase in the number of mammograms in the 1980s and 1990s showed the value of early detection of breast cancer.

"Ninety-five percent of cases are curable if caught early," Turley says. "Early is the stage before you can feel anything. It takes a mammogram to find them."

According to Nancy Brinker, CEO and founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, more than 98 percent of people treated for early stage breast cancer live more than five years longer.

Health resources in Kootenai County work together to provide early detection for breast cancer. The 30-year-old mother who came to Turley started at the Dirne Community Health Center. Dirne is a federally-funded clinic that counts the uninsured among its patients.

Dirne's medical staff referred the young woman to PHD's Komen program. Through the program, Turley helps financially-eligible people get the breast cancer screenings they need. Last year, 505 women were screened through PHD's Komen program. In 2011, PHD has Komen funding for 510 patients.

The Komen program primarily helps people between the ages of 30 and 49 who have no health insurance or are under-insured. PHD also provides the Women's Health Check program for lower-income women ages 50 to 64 who have no insurance coverage for breast and cervical cancer screenings.

This year, 19 breast cancer diagnoses resulted from the two screening programs at PHD.

Turley helps people who qualify enroll in Medicaid to help cover the costs of treatment, surgery and chemotherapy.

"People don't get screened for so many reasons. Inability to pay should not be one of them with all the resources available," Turley says.

The young mother Dirne referred to PHD underwent a mastectomy this month. Turley helped her enroll in Medicaid. Chemotherapy is the next step. When the young woman discovered a potential health problem, she didn't let her lack of insurance stop her from taking care of herself.

"That's not always the case," Turley says. "There's a lot of denial with breast cancer."

Some women skip breast screening because they're afraid of bad results, she says. Such inaction can allow cancer to spread and lowers the chances for successful treatment.

Turley had a patient who had once enrolled in the Women's Health Check program. After one mammogram in her 40s, the woman skipped further screening for 10 years though health experts recommend annual mammograms after age 40. When she saw a doctor last year for a mass in her breast, her cancer was widespread. The woman was sent to Hospice for comfort care.

"We have the resources to help," says Turley, who has worked with thousands of women through the Komen and Women's Health Check programs. "These programs touch my heart. I want women to know these resources are there for them."

For information on breast cancer screenings through PHD, call 415-5293 or visit www.phd1.idaho.gov and click on Mammograms under Clinical Services on the main menu.

Cynthia Taggart is the public information officer for the Panhandle Health District. She can be reached at ctaggart@phd1.idaho.gov.