When the screening unit rolls into town, it can save a life.
Across Alberta, mobile breast screening units are bringing mammograms directly into communities that might otherwise face long travel times or other barriers to care. From northern communities to the southern border, including rural Indigenous communities, these units are expanding access to one of the most important tools in cancer detection.
Instead of travelling to larger centres, eligible Alberta women can receive mammograms close to home through Screen Test’s mobile screening program.
For more than 30 years, the program has delivered over half a million mammograms, helping ensure access to mammography doesn’t depend on where someone lives.
Donor support made it possible to replace mobile screening units that had been in service for more than a decade. The new units are brighter, more spacious and more accessible for individuals with mobility challenges.
Most importantly, they are equipped with upgraded technology. Instead of traditional 2D imaging, the units now offer 3D mammography (tomosynthesis), providing a clearer and more detailed view of breast tissue and helping detect cancer earlier and more accurately.
What began as makeshift clinics in public buildings and vans equipped with darkrooms has evolved into a modern, mobile screening program that continues to expand its reach — supported by donors who understand early detection saves lives.
“We are decreasing people’s mortality from breast cancer,” says Joan Hauber, manager of Screen Test. “Early detection through screening, combined with advances in treatment, leads to better outcomes. Everybody is working together.”
Since its inception, the mobile breast screening program has performed over 500,000 mammograms and detected more that 3,000 breast cancers.
