The Susan G. Komen Coastal Georgia Affiliate announced at its annual awards luncheon Tuesday that it is awarding $357,017 for direct community services that will fund breast cancer screening, education, diagnostic services and patient navigation.

Including Tuesday’s contribution, the affiliate will have awarded more than $2 million in local grants.

“It often surprises people to learn that support for our affiliate is raised here and stays here,’ said Aileen Gabbey, executive director for Susan G. Komen Coastal Georgia. “Seventy-five percent of funds raised benefit the nine counties we serve, and the remaining 25 percent is devoted to research for a cure.”

This year, the local Komen affiliate has awarded seven grants to programs in the Coastal Georgia area:

• Curtis V. Cooper Mammography, $60,000

• Southeast Georgia Health System’s Mammograms in Motion, $60,000

• Liberty County Health Department’s BRAVE III Project, $49,977

• Hearts and Hands for Mammograms,$29,278

• Bulloch’s Breast Brigade, $52,064

• Effingham Hospital’s Comprehensive Education and Screening Program, $58,566

• Coastal Community Health Services Breast Cancer Outreach, $47,132

“Each month in our service area, 12 women are diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer,” said Sarah Denmark, board president. “We stress the need for screenings for under-served women in our community because early detection saves lives. The five-year survival rate for early diagnosis is 98 percent.”

Funding for the community grants is generated primarily through the Savannah Race for the Cure, which is scheduled to begin April 16 in historic Savannah’s Ellis Square.