General Director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) Mikel Arriola Peñaloza opened the first Breast Health Clinic in the country where more than a million IMSS beneficiaries in Mexico City can be served. In hopes of lowering the mortality rate of breast cancer, this marks a shift to preventative measures.
Arriola Peñaloza noted that the new clinic has four mammography machines with a capacity to conduct more than 45,000 mammograms per year. Arriola Peñaloza said that once a growth is detected by a mammography, the best doctors at the IMSS will remove the problem areas via surgery. The unit, which costs more than 33 million pesos ($1.8 million), will reduce the time it takes to diagnose breast cancer. Usually it takes between three to six weeks to detect, but this machine will be able to detect signs of breast cancer in just one week.
“The main benefit, is that the time it takes to make a diagnosis will be cut, and we know that timing is crucial for the survival of this evil that is breast cancer,” said Arriola Peñaloza. “Our timing will be comparable to the best health systems in the world.” Arriola Peñaloza.
Arriola noted that new breast clinic can also be used to detect colon cancer, prostate cancer in men and skin cancer.