Nicole Malliotakis

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Hospital leaders say too few Staten Islanders are being screened for breast cancer, while the borough’s disease rate remains higher than city and state rates.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican representing Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, joined medical professionals on Thursday at the Florina Rusi Muske Comprehensive Breast Center in Ocean Breeze to urge residents to get potentially lifesaving breast cancer screenings.

The press conference at Staten Island University Hospital’s breast imaging center included president Meagan Sills, radiologist Shirley Hanna, radiation oncologist Chika Madu and surgical breast oncologist Karishma Kollipara.

‘The numbers aren’t where we want them’

Sills said too few eligible Staten Islanders are being screened for breast cancer.

“When we think about the number of residents in Staten Island that meet the criteria [of] over 40, across all our treatment sites, the numbers aren’t matching,” she said.

“We know that annual screening for women over 40 saves the most lives,” Hanna said. “And most people know that if you have a family history of breast cancer it may increase your risk. But 75% to 85% of the time, patients don’t have a family history of breast cancer.”

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends mammograms every other year for women ages 40 through 74. Medicare covers one screening mammogram annually for symptomless women age 40 or older.

Hanna said Staten Island’s incidence is about 10% above the citywide rate. Reporting by the Advance/SILive.com for the series, “Cancer on Staten Island: The Search for Why,” found breast cancer has the highest incidence rate of any cancer in the borough, at 143.9 cases per 100,000 people annually. That is 11.5% above the city rate and 4.8% above the statewide rate.

Staten Island’s overall cancer rate is 21% higher than New York City’s. However, no comprehensive study has examined the borough’s cancer rates as a whole.

Asked about federal funding for an independent study of possible environmental links to cancer, Malliotakis said an interested institution could seek available funding.

“If there was an institution that was interested in doing that, I think there is federal funding that they could apply for,” she said, adding that the city Health Department or a local university would be the proper place for such a study.

The 9/11 factor

Malliotakis cited toxins from the World Trade Center attacks as a possible factor.

“We are the leading district in the entire country when it comes to individuals enrolled in the World Trade Center healthcare program for 9/11-related illnesses, and it’s not even close,” she said.

The World Trade Center Health Program provides responders and survivors free monitoring and treatment for 9/11-related conditions, including cancer screenings.

“We are a community made up of so many first responders, and so many people who work in and around that area,” Malliotakis said. She said that is why she worked to ensure the program remained fully funded.

Screening coverage and federal policy

Malliotakis called for broader Medicare coverage of breast sonograms, saying a changed interpretation ended preventive coverage. She said that creates concern for women with dense breasts, about half of women over 40.

Hanna explained that fat appears black on a mammogram, while breast tissue appears white. Cancer also appears white, which can make it harder to identify in dense tissue. Since September 2024, mammography facilities have been required to notify patients when they have dense breasts.

Malliotakis said private insurers must cover sonograms, while Medicare coverage is more difficult. Medicare is supposed to cover medically necessary sonograms, but she said many claims are denied.

She appealed to Dr. Mehmet Oz to reverse the policy.

At the same time, the Trump administration, with which Malliotakis has closely aligned herself, has made policy changes that cancer experts say affect breast cancer research and coverage. Executive orders signed early last year froze and disrupted federal cancer research funding and ended diversity and equity programs. Breastcancer.org has said terminating equity-related grants affects patients and research because breast cancer and its treatment vary among racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

The congresswoman outlined several federal initiatives she has supported in connection to breast cancer patients and research.

Malliotakis cited a program providing breast and cervical cancer screenings and diagnostic services to low-income, uninsured and underserved women. Staten Island University Hospital, Richmond University Medical Center and NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center participate in New York’s federally funded Cancer Services Program.

Malliotakis said the program was extended through 2030, allowing eligible women to receive mammograms, other screenings and follow-up diagnostic testing. She also cited support for funding the Women’s Health Initiative; the Find It Early Act, which would expand insurance coverage for breast cancer screening; and the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act, intended to help patients access Social Security and Medicare benefits more quickly.

Why early detection matters

Doctors said early detection can reduce treatment and its long-term consequences.

Kollipara said a cancer caught early may be treated with a lumpectomy, which removes the tumor and a small amount of surrounding tissue, rather than a mastectomy, which removes most breast tissue. Earlier, localized cancer can also mean fewer lymph nodes are removed, lowering the chance of lymphedema, or arm swelling.

Madu said larger tumors can require more extensive radiation and sometimes chemotherapy, increasing side effects.

“We have to screen early, catch it early, and then be able to de-escalate the treatment,” Madu said.

Sills said earlier detection can reduce emotional and practical burdens. A mastectomy may require mental health therapy, while radiation can require patients to arrange repeated transportation and support.

“We need to put ourselves first so we can take care of our loved ones at home,” Sills said.

Patients should begin by speaking with a health care provider. In New York, private health plans and Medicaid must provide free breast cancer screenings. Medicare covers annual mammograms for women 40 and older. Uninsured New Yorkers can seek free screenings through the Cancer Services Program at 1-866-442-CANCER (2262).

“You really don’t have to leave the Island to get excellent breast care,” Hanna said. “Get your screening mammogram. Early detection is the key.”