A fully equipped truck with a mammogram, a computer to view and transmit exams and the capacity to see 100 patients a day is in circulation in São Paulo.
The objective of the initiative, the result of a partnership between the NGO Américas Amigas and Intel, is to offer free mammograms to the female public — the test is used to diagnose breast cancer, the most lethal type of the disease for women.
The mobile unit, which since Tuesday (26) provides care in Paraisópolis (in the south of São Paulo), performs exams from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm in all women over 40 and in vulnerable situations who want to be examined. The truck will be in circulation until December 3rd (see dates and locations below).
In addition to the mammogram, patients can also undergo an ultrasound, be referred for a consultation with a specialist and even undergo a biopsy, if the test results indicate that this is necessary.
According to Andrea da Veiga Pereira, president of the NGO, the choice of vulnerable women as the target audience was taken in an attempt to get closer to the communities. In addition, this group is the most affected by the waiting list for exams in the public network.
“Our project works with internet scheduling and gives preference to women who already have some sign, some evidence of having a lump or other formation in the breast. These women would be affected if they had to wait for the exams in the SUS queue”, she says .
This does not mean that women cannot be seen without prior appointments. “We serve all of them and, at the end of the day, the demand continues to exist, we can’t bring it to zero,” says Pereira.
As the result of the exam is extremely fast, of up to 5 minutes, patients can be instructed to undergo complementary exams, which are monitored by the NGO until a complete diagnosis is made. “With the diagnosis in hand, the patient has the autonomy to go to the SUS to undergo treatment or surgery, within the 60-day law [que prevê obrigatoriedade de atendimento no prazo máximo de 60 dias após determinação do tratamento]. We follow the entire process until the end.”
The speed of the report and the ability to process and transmit up to 170 exams per day are two important additions to the project by the companies Intel Brasil and Diagnext.com, responsible for data security, IT monitoring and other mobile services. “In recent years, Intel Brazil has developed enabling technologies, such as Intel NUC miniprocessors, which are the size of a palm and process data with agility”, explains Fabiano Sabatini, IT specialist at the company.
Thus, the speed of sending data also allows consultations to be carried out via telemedicine, reinforces Sabatini. “In a normal laboratory, the period for test results can be from one to five working days, in some cases in our mobile unit, the return is less than 5 minutes”, he says.
Several studies have shown that early diagnosis of breast cancer can reduce mortality from the disease by up to 25%, especially in women over 40 years of age, in whom annual screening is recommended.
In Brazil, according to data from the National Cancer Institute (Inca), about 66 thousand new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year, with an incidence of 61.61 cases per 100 thousand people.
In 2019, the disease mortality rate was 14.23 deaths per 100,000 women, being the leading cause of cancer death in women in the country (with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancers).
The NGO Américas Amigas was founded in 2009, first with the objective of donating mammography devices (mammography devices) to philanthropic hospitals in the country. In 2012, the group expanded its actions into more areas: device donation, professional training and training, public communication and awareness, and exam donation through partner laboratories — including the motorcade action, which was donated by the Cancer Hospital of Sponsorship in Barretos (SP).
Check the dates of the truck in the state of São Paulo below
- From 10/26 to 10/31 in the Community of Paraisópolis (SP)
- From 11/2 to 11/7 at Shopping Plaza Mauá (SP)
- From 11/29 to 12/3 in São Sebastião, on the North Coast (SP)
To learn more, visit the Américas Amigas website.
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