MU Health Care unveils mobile mammography unit

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

MU Health Care on Monday unveiled its new mobile mammography unit during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The new unit replaces a van that debuted in 2016, traveled more than 120,000 miles and provided service to roughly 300 patients a month, a Monday press release says. Mobile mammography services were launched by MU Health Care in 1992, according to the release.

The 34-foot, heated and air-conditioned trailer includes 3D mammography equipment, which is also offered at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, the release says.

MU Health Care says the new mobile unit will help catch breast cancer early and lead to better outcomes for patients in rural Missouri.

“Missouri woman get breast cancer more than any other type of cancer except skin cancer,” Dr. Gerhard Hildebrandt, director of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, said in the release. “But women who get mammograms have a 60% lower risk of dying from breast cancer. We believe this new mobile mammography unit will help catch more breast cancers early and lead to better outcomes for patients in rural Missouri.”