Pink October: is there too long a time limit for access to screening mammography?

In this month of Pink October, the media focus is on breast cancer. And in several newspapers in the regional daily press, testimonies from women report the difficulty of finding an appointment for a mammogram, whether as part of organized screening or to check for the presence of a lump in the breast.

Organized screening that directs patients to approved centers

Questioned about this situation, Emmanuel Ricard, spokesperson for the League Against Cancer, firstly recalls that a woman with a lump in the breast does not fall within the framework of organized screening. “A woman in this situation is awaiting a diagnosis. She has seen her GP and it is her responsibility to pick up the phone to help her find a quick appointment for a mammography” he believes.

Concerning women who enter the framework of organized screening, he emphasizes that “Regional Cancer Screening Coordination Centers (CRCDC) provide a list of centers approved for screening mammography” and that “Health Insurance has also set up telephone platforms to contact the women concerned and offer them places that are able to give them an appointment quickly.”

Mammobuses to meet women

In addition to these initiatives, several departments or regions have also set up “mammobus”. These equipped buses allow you to meet women, to offer them the opportunity to make an appointment for a mammogram and to have it carried out on site. “More and more ARS are interested in this type of initiative, with buses equipped with mammographs, which provide complete screening with double reading and palpation of the breasts. assures Emmanuel Ricard. “In Ariège and Normandy, the mammobus is already operating. The project is progressing for the Brittany and PACA regions“.

Another bus of this type – called Mammo Solidaire – has already traveled the roads of Ile-de-France, for the same purpose, last year. And this year, a breast bus will circulate in Alsace, under the aegis of the National Federation of Radiologists (FNMR). “The bus will circulate in 13 towns in Alsace during the first three weeks of October and will be equipped with a mammography device (non-functional) as well as a “mammo bust”, to raise awareness of self-palpation. indicates their press release.

Screening still in decline, despite everything

“The objective is to target medical deserts, in order to boost the participation of women in organized screening and to fight against territorial inequalities” further advances the spokesperson for the League. But these initiatives, although they have the merit of existing, remain imperfect: they do not cover the entire territory, sometimes lack visibility and do not necessarily mobilize crowds.

In fact, organized screening has existed for 20 years, this year and according to figures from the National Cancer Institute, nearly 11 million women aged 50 to 74 are eligible. But less than one in two participates, in fact, and the figures have been in free fall since 2012. Many obstacles still need to be removed, therefore, to encourage women to be better screened.

Slide: Breast cancer: the most beautiful Pink October campaigns