The bait is irresistible and may help Shoshone County improve its poor breast cancer screening rates.

Panhandle Health District has provided people in businesses and organizations in Shoshone County with aprons and buttons to wear that say, "Ask Me!" When people take the bait and ask, they receive information about the importance of screening for breast cancer.

Some also are referred to the PHD office in Kellogg for a clinical breast exam and help applying for resources for mammograms.

Shoshone County's annual mammogram rate - 52 percent - is nearly the worst in Idaho, and Idaho's breast cancer screening rate - 63 percent - is the worst in the nation. The national average is 74 percent.

"We've seen in Washington that this program is effective," says Lisa Gardom, coordinator of PHD's Comprehensive Cancer program. "The one-on-one education makes a difference."

Washington ran the Ask Me campaign in parts of the state in 2009. That year, the number of mammograms in the areas with Ask Me jumped significantly more than it did in areas without the campaign.

The Ask Me campaign targets women age 50 to 74 and recommends they have mammograms annually. Volunteers in the program advise women younger than 50 to talk with their health-care provider about the benefits of annual mammograms.

PHD trains the Ask Me volunteers to provide basic education about breast cancer screening. Mammograms help with early detection of breast cancer. Early detection is the key to survival.

"I thought we could get the word out, increase our mammograms," says Kenda Morgan, a case manager for Shoshone Medical Center, one of the sites participating in the Ask Me program. "We have the portable mammogram bus that comes here. Women can get their mammograms right here."

Ask Me volunteers refer uninsured and under-insured women to PHD for help applying to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and the federally-funded Women's Health Check.

The Komen program provides breast exams and vouchers for mammograms and ultrasounds for women younger than 50 who have no health insurance or are under-insured.

The federally-funded Women's Health Check program provides clinical breast exams and vouchers for mammograms for lower-income women ages 50 to 64 who have no insurance coverage for breast screenings.

Ask Me is a pilot program in Idaho operating in only two health districts. If it proves successful, the program will expand into other areas of the state.

People in Shoshone County can find the Ask Me buttons and aprons at Shoshone County Women's Resource Center and Good Samaritan Society Silverwood Village as well as at Shoshone Medical Center.

PHD's goal is to increase mammograms in Shoshone County by 10 percent - 170 people, by Sept. 30. Businesses and organizations interested in participating in the Ask Me program can contact Lisa Gardom at 415-5242.