For immediate release
Contact: Mary Jane Gore
434-924-9241

UVa Gets Mobile Digital Mammography Van

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. , Oct. 18 -- UVa Department of Radiology’s Breast Imaging division has acquired a mobile digital mammography van, the first in the state of Virginia. The van is one of only four digital mammography vans now helping to screen women in communities across the United States .

The arrival of the van, based at the UVa Medical Center , is good news for women who may have difficulty getting to a traditional site with digital mammography.

The van will be at Panera Bakery-Café in Barracks Road on Monday, Oct. 24, for its first communitywide screening.  The van will soon be traveling to the Capital One building in Richmond . To schedule a screening, women should call 434-924-9210.

Programs are in place to cover the cost of exams for women with no health insurance; please call 434-924-9210 for more information.

A recent, large medical study found that digital mammography that uses computers to detect breast cancer found significantly (up to 28%) more cancers than screen film mammography in women 50 and younger, premenopausal and perimenopausal women, and women with dense breasts.

“It’s important for every woman to get a quality mammogram. But if you’re under 50, premenopausal or know you have dense breast tissue, you should consider having a digital mammogram at your next scheduled screening,” said Dr. Jennifer Harvey, a radiologist and head of breast imaging at the UVa Health System and site investigator for the trial at UVa. “However, women should not delay getting a mammogram if only film screen technology is available. Traditional film screen mammograms save lives as well.”

Women who fall into these categories should try to have digital mammography if it is available, because it benefits them most. The study showed no difference between digital and standard X-ray mammography in detecting breast cancer for the general population of women, however. More than 1,300 women took part in the trial through UVa’s Radiology Breast Imaging Division, one of 33 sites in the U.S. and Canada to study the effectiveness of digital mammogram technology.

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