As part of its effort to reduce health disparities, Penn Medicine is offering mammograms from a van that travels to communities where people have less access to breast cancer screenings.
The mobile unit made its first stop Sunday at a community health fair in West Philadelphia. The van contains state-of-the-art 3D screen technology, developed by Siemens Healthineers, that can look through layers of breast tissue and produce high-resolution, detailed images to identify calcifications and other irregularities, said Dr. Brian Englander, chairman of the radiology department at Pennsylvania Hospital.
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"The idea's equity, and equity means if there's something new, provide that," Englander said. "Don't limit what patients are able to get just because it's mobile. It (the level of care) really should be indistinguishable, whether they go into the hospital or they go into a mobile van."
The goal of the mobile unit is to "decentralize" the process of getting annual mammograms for people who may have trouble getting to Pennsylvania Hospital or other brick and mortar locations due to transportation, work schedules and other issues, said Englander, who is leading the program. It also seeks to reduce health disparities.
Nationally, about 70% of women consistently get mammograms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The hope is that the van will help get that number as close to 100% as possible, Englander said.
Mammograms use X-rays to detect tumors in women's breasts. Guidelines vary for how often women should get mammograms. Generally, women with an average risk of breast cancer should begin annual mammogram screening at 40.
About 40% of women have dense breast tissue, which puts them at higher risk for cancer and makes it harder to detect tumors on mammograms. Women with dense breast tissue should talk to health care providers about possible supplemental screening in addition to mammograms, according to the American Cancer Society.
Since 2014, the Penn Medicine Breast Health Initiative has been offering free mammograms and pap smears at Penn locations around the city. The van expands these efforts by offering mammogram screenings at community sites five days a week year round. Ultimately, the Penn Medicine wants to make the van available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Englander said.
At Sunday's event, 32 free mammograms were completed. Penn Medicine is following up to give free screenings to 17 more people who were waiting, Englader said.
Local businesses and community organizations can request the mobile mammography van through an online form, and its schedule soon will be available online. The van bills the insurers of people who have health insurance, but also offers free mammograms to people without insurance, Englander said.
Penn Medicine spent approximately $1.1 million to buy the 34-foot van and mammography technology. Penn continues to seek private donors and other funding sources for the program. If the need arises, Penn Medicine may add additional vans.
The goal is to "make sure we take care of our neighbors and each other right now," Englander said. "Hopefully, (it's) the first of many opportunities to bring care into neighbors' backyards, basically, so that they don't have to struggle to get the care that they need and deserve."
If women come to Penn Medicine's mobile mammography van with a breast lump, or if the screening shows irregularities, Penn Medicine fits them in the same day for follow-up testing or refers them to another provider, if preferred, Englander said.
Fox Chase Cancer Center and Jefferson Health also have done mobile screening events.