Netcare and Siemens join forces in the fight against breast cancer: New mobile mammography unit to provide free of charge breast cancer screening to underprivileged women.
Johannesburg, South Africa, May 9, 2012
Netcare, through the Netcare Foundation, will be providing mobile breast cancer screening (mammography) services, free of charge, to underprivileged women in rural and semi rural areas of South Africa. Siemens has kindly donated a trailer, fitted with state-of-the-art medical imaging equipment to the Netcare Foundation who will manage and fund the service.
It is envisaged that the Netcare Foundation’s breast screening initiative, aimed at facilitating the early detection of breast cancer in disadvantaged women, will commence later this year. “The best defense against breast cancer is to detect any abnormalities early, resulting in an excellent chance of recovery. We are really proud to be supporting the Netcare Foundation in this initiative to make breast care screening more accessible to women in South Africa,” says Helen Brown, Head of the Healthcare Sector for Siemens Southern Africa.
The Cancer Association of South Africa, (CANSA), a supportive partner of the project, will provide educational material and assist with community mobilisation and patient support. According to the organisation, breast cancer is detected in 1 in 29 women, making it the most prevalent cancer in the country, following similar worldwide statistics.
The mobile mammography unit will initially be used to support the Free State Department of Health (FSDoH) with the screening of disadvantaged patients in several rural towns in the northern Free State. “Netcare remains committed to enhancing the health of South African women. We value the generous donation by Siemens of a fully fitted trailer with state-of-the-art technology and the support services that CANSA will provide. Without their contribution the Netcare Foundation could not have embarked on this journey to offer the FSDoH assistance with screening for breast cancer,” says Mande Toubkin, CSI and CSR Manager at Netcare.
The official handover of the mobile mammography trailer to Netcare will take place during the second annual Africa Health Exhibition at Nasrec Exhibition Centre in Johannesburg. The exhibition, which takes places from 9 to 11 May, brings together practitioners from around the African continent and provides a networking platform to encourage knowledge sharing.
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the founding sponsors of the event and will showcase its broad portfolio of medical technologies and solutions.