Mammography mobile service tests nearly 40,000 women since launch – The GW Hatchet

In front of the law school, a pink-bubblegum van with cherry blossoms is waiting for the patients to pass through the patient's door for free breast cancer screening.

More than 20 years after the inauguration of Mammovan – a 15-tonne van measuring 40 feet long and offering women free breast cancer screening – doctors have examined more than 37,000 women for breast cancer. The program also received nearly $ 500,000 from a single charity, as the van is a way to promote health equity in the district, officials said.

"This has allowed us to offer the women we see, regardless of their ability to pay, the latest technology," said Rachel Brem, Director of the Breast Imaging and Intervention Center for GW Medical Faculty Associates. director of the Mammovan program, I said.

Mammovan examines about 25 uninsured women over the age of 40 every day. When he is not traveling to track the patients, the van sits at the corner of 20th and H Streets. The program's nine physicians annually monitor 2,500 women and work toward the early detection of breast cancer, particularly women who can not go to their doctor's appointment, said Brem.

Brem added that doctors do not check tax records to see if women qualify for free care. They are content to "ask women to be honest" and organize free screenings for all patients.

"We want to give women in our community all we can to get a mammogram that saves lives," she said. "That's what we do."

Brem said that Mammovan hosts one of the country's oldest mobile programs. She added that the van continues to meet a need for accessible cancer screening in the district, which has the country's highest breast cancer mortality rate, according to the Cancer Consortium, D.C. Cancer.

Mobile mammography clinics, such as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the University of California at San Francisco, also offer affordable breast cancer screenings.

Brem said last year, Eaglebank – a bank in the US, Maryland and Virginia region – donated a new Mammovan to the program, featuring 3D mammography technology.

Brem said that annual fundraisers, such as the Blush Lunch held earlier this month, also offset Mammovan's spending. The Safeway Foundation – a charity run by the Albertsons Companies Foundation – has been recognized as an honorary sponsor this year because it has donated more than $ 450,000 since the launch of the Mammovan program, officials said.

Faculty of Medicine spokeswoman Ashley Rizzardo declined to say how much money was raised at the Blush lunch. She also declined to say how much has been raised to support Mammovan since its launch.

Mammovan was created in 1996 with a grant from the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The daily screening of the van is funded by the operating funds of the medical faculty associates, as well as by corporate donations.

"A $ 300 donation can provide a mammogram for a woman who can not afford to buy it," MFA spokeswoman Barbara Porter said in an e-mail.

Brem said the Mammovan program also aims to address health disparities among minority communities in the district. She stated that the death rate of black women was higher than that of white women with breast cancer and that the program was intended to involve "underserved" communities with a higher risk of death from breast cancer.

According to the nonprofit group Breastcancer.org, the breast cancer mortality rate is 20 to 40% higher than that of white women in the country. Several factors probably contribute to the disparity, including genetics and differences in health care, according to the group.

Members of the GW Cancer Center also began developing treatment plans and research focused on the health issues of minority groups.

Sharad Goyal, a professor of radiology, said that Mammovan can help reduce the number of breast cancer deaths and help women in South America overcome problems such as lack of transportation, the chance to get pregnant. limited access to medical services and the cost of examination.

"The GW Mammovan is an integral part of the GW Cancer Center, which focuses on the development of multidisciplinary clinical research, education and awareness programs as part of a comprehensive approach to prevention, diagnosis, cancer treatment and survival, "Goyal said in an email.

This article was published in the October 29, 2018 issue of The Hatchet.