Columbia, Missouri – Designed to improve access to vital breast cancer screening for residents in Missouri’s rural Columbia communities, MU Health Care has unveiled a groundbreaking mobile mammography unit. Revealed on Monday, this creative move includes a trailer with the newest 3D mammography equipment, exactly what is employed at MU Health Care’s existing Ellis Fischel Cancer Center.
Reflecting a long-standing dedication to improve healthcare accessibility, MU Health Care’s mobile mammography services have grown to 27 rural counties since their launch in 1992. Emphasizing the continuity of quality in the new mobile unit, Eric Maze, Public Relations Manager at MU Health Care, pointed out that the technology in the new trailer is the same modern equipment they use at their cancer center, thus ensuring high-quality treatment whenever the patient is.
The transition from a van to a trailer is not just a logistical update but a significant upgrade in the quality of the environment where these vital services are provided. The new trailer has better conveniences including heating and cooling systems, taller ceilings for a roomier the environment, and solar panels to increase energy economy. These improvements help to provide a more dependable and comfortable service, therefore optimizing the screening experience for the patients.
Annette Berkley, a mammographer who works with the mobile unit, shared heartwarming feedback from the field:
“If you don’t have a mammogram done, there is no way (mammographers) are going to be able to find breast cancer,” Berkley said as reported by the Columbia Missourian. “Unless you were to find a lump, and by the time you find a lump, and it is cancer, you have now let that disease progress.”
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The importance of this service is impossible to overestimate, especially for remote locations where access to healthcare may significantly impact outcomes. Studies noted in the medical journal “The Oncologist,” show that, on diagnosis, rural patients generally show more advanced stages of illness than their urban counterparts. Rural residents were nearly twice as likely to have undisclosed cancer at diagnosis.
MU Health Care’s CEO, Ric Ransom, reinforced the mission behind the mobile unit.
“This new unit is a direct reflection of MU Health Care’s mission to save and improve lives and to increase access to health care in rural communities across the state,” said Ransom in a press release. “Where you live should not determine the level of health care you receive, and this mobile unit ensures that women in rural parts of our state have access to critical screenings and care, close to home.”
Medical studies also emphasize the need of routine mammograms since they imply that women who get tested have a 60% less risk of dying from breast cancer than those who do not. Furthermore, early cancer discovery is quite important. Should one discover breast cancer in its extremely early stages, their chances of the disease not returning are 98%.
“Missouri women get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer except skin cancer,” said Dr. Gerhard Hildebrandt, director of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. “But women who get mammograms have a 60% lower risk of dying from breast cancer. We believe this new mobile mammography unit will help catch more breast cancers early and lead to better outcomes for patients in rural Missouri.”
More than just a healthcare tool, this mobile mammography program is a lifeline for people living in far-off locations, a lighthouse of hope and a dedication to health right across Missouri.
