03.29.12 Cancer survivors rallied on the State Capitol steps Wednesday and demanded restoration of state matching funds for a breast cancer screening program.

The Louisiana Breast and Cervical Health Program operates on $2.4 million annually and provides mammography and cervical cancer screenings for about 14,000 women annually. The women served are predominantly low-income and uninsured.

Most of the money comes from the federal government, but the state has to provide a match, which has been $700,000 annually for the past five years.

Funding was cut as part of the reduction in state spending required of the LSU health-care budget.