Almost 7,000 Malaga women have already benefited from mobile breast cancer screening unit this year

Eugenio Cabezas

Axarquía

Friday, 25 April 2025, 15:51

A mobile breast cancer screening unit has already benefited 7,000 women in Malaga, relying on prevention and awareness as the best medicine for the disease. The unit is currently touring different towns in the province and was visited by the delegate of the Junta de Andalucía's regional government in Malaga, Patricia Navarro, during its stay in the Axarquia town of Cómpeta, where it will stay until 2 May.

"This service is a prime example of the Andalusian government's commitment to the prevention of one of the most prevalent cancer processes," said Navarro, who added that these mobile units are a "fundamental" complement to the breast cancer early detection screening programme, which is already being implemented in the primary care system.

According to Navarro, "the fact that we can take this breast cancer screening to the most remote municipalities, to the most distant villages, and give all the residents of these municipalities the possibility of accessing diagnostic tests, can greatly reduce the seriousness with which they often arrive at the oncology services".

For this reason, Navarro encouraged the women who have been summoned to attend a tool "that is working very well, with an average participation rate of 90%". "Practically all the women who are summoned are attending this test," said Navarro, highlighting that the device is fully accessible, due to the proximity to the women's homes and the extended availability from Monday to Sunday from 8am to 10pm.

In 2022, the Junta de Andalucía carried out the renewal of the fleet with seven mobile units, one of them in the province of Malaga. The service was completely renovated thanks to an investment of 4.5 million euros and new equipment such as a digital mammograph that offers a higher resolution and a shorter exposure time to radiation, which reduces the discomfort for women who come for the test.

Another investment of 800,000 euros was made in 2024 to facilitate continuous visits to Andalusian municipalities. The mobile unit will be in the Plaza de España in Cómpeta until 2 May, where 750 women from Cómpeta, Árchez and Canillas de Albaida can attend this test.

On 5 May, the unit will travel to the municipalities of Casabermeja and Colmenar. "The mobile unit has already passed through other municipalities such as Alozaina, Álora, Yunquera, Pizarra, Torrox and Algarrobo; nearly 7,000 women have easily attended this important test," said Navarro. "Distance cannot be an excuse for women not to attend an appointment concerning a disease with high prevalence, which, if detected early, has a high degree of cure," she added.

Navarro reminded the public that early detection is essential to "improving diagnoses and the type of treatment that patients will receive". She highlighted that this is a fundamental cornerstone in the improvement of the Andalusian public system. Navarro stated that, thanks to early detection, "70% of women who underwent surgery in 2024 to keep their breasts".

During her visit, Navarro checked the appointment protocol and the diagnostic tests carried out in the mobile unit. She also said that the regional government aims "to extend the coverage of these tests" to include all women from 45 to 71.

Navarro also said that the Junta is putting consistent efforts in expanding the budget for "better equipment and medical devices in all services related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer". She highlighted that investment in recent years "has increased fivefold, from 29.9 million euros in the period 2014-2018 to 157 million euros in the last six years".

The regional ministry of health and consumer affairs has implemented important improvements with the renovation and expansion of technological equipment, material and human resources in Andalusian health care, resulting in the incorporation of 43 new mammography machines with tomosynthesis into the public health system - "equipment that improves the detection of tumours in those age groups below 50 years of age" and whose investment has amounted to eleven million euros.

The breast cancer screening programme joins other cancer prevention programmes such as colon cancer screening and cervical cancer screening, which is being progressively implemented in health centres throughout Andalucía, complemented by the inclusion in the vaccination schedule of the human papilloma virus vaccine for adolescents, women and men between 12 and 18 years of age.