Raising the bar on the fight against cancer, the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has launched a mobile breast cancer screening unit which is the first of its kind in the region.
Under the patronage of HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari,  PHCC managing director Dr Mariam Abdulmalik launched the mobile unit at the Leabaib Health Centre yesterday. The mobile unit consists of an advanced mammography unit and two changing rooms.
The focus will be initially on offering mammography with a view to extending it to other services. The unit will visit various health centres as per a schedule and the first stop will be at the Abu Baker Health Centre.
“The mobile screening unit is a major development for PHCC as part of the fight against cancer in Qatar. It offers a new concept in primary healthcare as breast screening is an essential part of the Breast and Bowel Screening Programme which complies with the recommendations of the National Cancer Programme,” said Dr Abdulmalik.
“Our target was to open three screening centres by the first half of 2016 and we are delighted to have achieved our goal. In January we opened Al Wakra Breast & Bowel Screening Centre followed by Leabaib Breast & Bowel Screening Centre in March and now the mobile screening unit. This will soon be followed by a fourth centre at Rawdat Al Khail health centre. We are very much on course to achieving our plans and are extremely proud of it,” added Dr Abdulmalik.
The mobile unit is manned by “highly-skilled” healthcare professionals. Screening will be conducted in the utmost privacy by a female radiologist and trained nurses who will provide vital information and responses to all questions from patients about the examination process.
Appointments for screening in the mobile unit can be made by calling the cancer screening call centre on 8001112 in advance.
Dr Abdulmalik said the entire unit cost about $1mn and provided the highest quality of screening facility for the visitors.
PHCC aims to raise awareness about the need to undergo screening to prevent cancer and expects that through these initiatives, people will get a deeper understanding of the value of early screening which can lead to detection and timely treatment.
The Ministry of Public Health has recommended breast cancer screening every three years and bowel cancer screening every year. The mobile unit will also act as a vehicle to create awareness in public places and strengthen PHCC’s marketing efforts at events and other initiatives.