FORT WAYNE, Ind. – April 9, 2026 – Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography has received a $39,999 grant from the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust (IBCAT), which disburses grants made possible by the sale of breast cancer awareness special recognition license plates and other financial donations.
“Access to early detection can truly change the trajectory of a breast cancer diagnosis,” said Dr. Patricia Clark, breast surgeon, Parkview Packnett Family Cancer Institute. “This grant allows us to reach women who might otherwise delay or miss essential screening due to cost or access challenges. By bringing mammography directly into the communities we serve, Francine’s Friends is helping us diagnose cancer earlier—when treatment is most effective and outcomes are strongest.”
The IBCAT grant will be used to provide mammograms for women who lack sufficient financial resources, supporting Francine’s Friends’ ongoing efforts to remove barriers to mammography screening. Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography is operated by the Parkview Packnett Family Cancer Institute and Breast Diagnostic Center in partnership with the Parkview Health Foundation.
“Our mission is to make life‑saving mammography screening accessible and convenient by eliminating barriers like transportation and cost,” said Jennifer Hauser, director, Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography. “We’re grateful to the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust and to everyone who supports their mission through pink ribbon license plate purchases or donations. Those dollars remain in our communities, improving access to breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and support services for Hoosiers.”
The IBCAT grant could fund approximately 240 patient mammogram screenings, covering 19 CPT codes from initial screening through diagnosis. This includes diagnostic screenings, ultrasounds, biopsies, pathology, and MRIs.
Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography helps improve access to screening for all women, not just those facing financial barriers to care. The coach provides screening mammography to women age 40 and older, with or without health insurance, who have not had a mammogram within the past 12 months. Many health insurance plans are accepted.
The Francine’s Friends coach travels five to six days a week, visiting 14 counties in northeast Indiana. Over 20 years of service, the coach has screened more than 61,000 women and visited 3,349 unique community business sites and clinics. Francine’s Friends has also fully funded 19,672 mammograms not otherwise covered by insurance and raised over $2.2 million to expand access to mammography.
“Early detection plays a critical role in successful breast cancer treatment,” Hauser said. “Don’t delay your screening. Your next mammogram could save your life.”
For more information about Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography, including the current schedule of public stops, visit www.Parkview.com/FrancinesFriends.
About the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust
Since the Breast Cancer Awareness special group recognition license plate was first made available in 2002, over $7.5 million has been distributed by the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust (IBCAT) through competitively awarded grants to organizations throughout Indiana for innovative projects for breast cancer screening, diagnostic, and support services not otherwise available to medically underserved populations in Indiana. In addition, nearly $161,000 has been awarded in scholarships to high school seniors who have lost a parent to breast cancer or have a parent currently battling the disease.
The mission of the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust, Inc. is to increase awareness and improve access to breast cancer screening, diagnosis and support services throughout Indiana. Indiana residents may purchase an Indiana breast cancer awareness special group recognition license plate by visiting any Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch, online at IN.gov/BMV, or on a BMV Connect kiosk for an annual $40 fee, $25 of which is a direct tax-deductible donation (to the extent of the law). The plate may be purchased for display on passenger motor vehicles, motorcycles, trucks with a declared gross weight of not more than 11,000 pounds, and recreational vehicles.
The Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness license plate was the brain-child of the late Nancy Jaynes, a Plymouth (Indiana) High School family and consumer sciences teacher. Nancy lost her battle with breast cancer in March of 2008. Her vision that the license plate be a traveling billboard and reminder about the importance of early detection of breast cancer is alive and making a difference to thousands of Hoosiers.
For more information or to make a direct donation to the Indiana Breast Cancer Awareness Trust, visit www.BreastCancerPlate.org.
