Governor proposes breast cancer awareness license plates

ATLANTA - A new breast cancer awareness license plate could be available next year. <br> <br> Supporters hope it could raise a million dollars a year for prevention and screening for the cancer. <br> <br> Governor Barnes announced the new tag this morning and said he also hopes to expand cancer programs in 64 rural Georgia counties. He plans to ask the Legislature to fund a $1.7 million grant to buy new mammography machines in rural areas. <br> <br> Hospitals in Vidalia, Colquitt and Blairsville are among those targeted for mammography equipment, which can cost up to $50,000. At least 12 Georgia counties have no mammography equipment now. <br> <br> The Georgia Breast Cancer Coalition says rural counties are in desperate need of state help to pay for early detection efforts. Ninety-five percent of patients who are diagnosed early survive five years later.