The French association Association Montpellier Hérault pour le Dépistage du Cancer du Sein (AMHDCS) has received a MAN TGX. It will travel through the Hérault department in the south of France with a semi-trailer specially equipped for breast cancer prevention, conducting mobile early detection screenings.
The ‘Mammobile’ is an attention-grabber wherever it goes. No wonder – the semi-trailer behind the white MAN tractor unit is completely pink, which attracts a lot of attention. And that’s exactly how it should be: the decals support the Association Montpellier Hérault pour le Dépistage du Cancer du Sein (AMHDCS), a southern French organisation committed to the fight against breast cancer. ‘Thanks to this new vehicle, we can reach those women for whom prevention and awareness are most important even more effectively,’ says Silvia Loy Morel, the organisation’s director.
Since 1990, the AMHDCS has prepared, initiated and implemented breast cancer screening for women in the city of Montpellier, and later in the district of the same name and finally in the Hérault department. As a pioneer in France, it now uses the mammobile, which travels throughout the Hérault department all year round. The aim of the campaign is to screen women between the ages of 50 and 74 and test them for breast cancer. To date, the AMHDCS has carried out more than 600,000 screenings. The key is to detect tumours while they are still small – as is the case with about half of the cancers detected by the mammobile. This ensures that women with the disease receive early treatment.
The Mammobile fully meets the requirements for breast cancer screening: the equipment installed in the trailer uses the latest generation of digital imaging technology and is subject to the same quality controls as all other medical facilities in France (university hospitals, general hospitals, private hospitals, radiology practices). In addition, the association has invested in an IT solution for evaluating the images using special reading consoles and for their digital archiving.