Walgreens Co. is donating $50,000 in gift cards to encourage uninsured Illinois women to take advantage of an Illinois Department of Health program offering free screening and low-cost treatment for breast and cervical cancer.

The first 2,000 women who sign up for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program and follow through with a screening will receive a $25 gift card from Deerfield-based Walgreens.

Walgreens hopes the gift cards will be an incentive for women to get tested, as well as offset medical expenses the women may have, said Vivika Vagara, Walgreens spokeswoman.

"We consider ourselves a health care provider in Illinois," she said. "And Bonnie Gordon, the promotional marketing and community outreach manager for Walgreens, is a breast cancer survivor herself, so she wanted to get involved to let women know these services are out there."

Awareness of the program and screening for breast and cervical cancer are important because women can fail to see the risk, said Melanie Arnold, Department of Public Health spokeswoman.

"Women are so busy taking care of their families that sometimes they forget to take care of themselves," she said.

Women without insurance can begin the screening process by calling the Women's Health Line at (888) 522-1282 for a referral to a local agency. For those who qualify, they will be directed to where they can be screened. If they receive a positive result, they're assigned a case manager who then helps them through the treatment process.

Free cervical cancer screening is available to women ages 35 and up, and breast cancer screening is available to women ages 40 and up.

"If you're uninsured and you're an Illinois resident, you qualify," Arnold said.

The Health Department will work with younger women who are symptomatic to see if they qualify as well.

To promote the program, the agency is recruiting salon owners for the ongoing Beautiful Inside Out initiative.

Participants will receive posters and literature to promote awareness of breast and cervical cancer and the importance of screening.

"A lot of women feel like they can talk to their stylists like a sister," said Y'lonn Parker, owner of Y'lonn Salon. "When you're comfortable, you're going to be honest with issues that concern you."

Parker has been involved in Beautiful Inside Out for a year and a half, but finds the gift card incentive a positive addition.

"When you develop a rapport with clients, they feel more like family than someone you have a business relationship with," Parker said. "We want to make sure they're taken care of."