Women from the region of Crete (approx. 621.000 inhabitants) take the breast cancer screening in their own communities, for free, at the first Mobile Mammography Unit in Crete.
Similarly, the first Preventive Dentistry Mobile Unit for children visits schools as well as institutions with children with special needs throughout our region, providing them with free general dental health services, giving out important information on dental hygiene as well as on diet matters.
Additional information provided by the policy officers involved and their assessments:
- Many women living in the Region of Crete and specially women living in the countryside, between the age of 40 and 70 years, were not submitted to a mammography test. Breast cancer constitutes for women the most frequent form of cancer and the second cause of death from cancer in Western societies. It is a fact that the early diagnosis, which is achieved with the mammography, is the best way to treat the illness.
- As for children, general hygiene is very much connected with dental hygiene. Dental illnesses, diseases and other considerable and complex problems such as obesity can be in part dealt with by the services provided by the volunteer dentists of the Mobile Unit.
- Since July 2008, the Mobile Mammography Unit has realised more than 10000 mammography tests around Crete, the islands of Santorini, Karpathos and Kastelorizo, Gavdos, contributing considerably in serving women that live in islands, faraway and mountainous regions, while informing them about the benefits of preventive healthcare.
From the tests, results have shown that:
50% of women have had a mammography test for the first time and were informed of the prevention of breast cancer
30% of women were asked to take additional tests
10% of women were asked to proceed to biopsy testing
- Since March 2010, the Mobile Dentistry Unit has examined and given advice to 1700 children, mainly aged 10-12, in schools all over the region.
From these tests, results show that:
– 44% of children have decay, and from those
• 45% έχουν dental problems
• 24% brush their teeth once per day
– 63% have healthy dentals, and from those
• 39% have decay
• 27% brush their teeth once per day
– 28% have never visited the dentist
In parallel with the general dental examination provided by this Mobile Unit, the young volunteer dentists have given important advice to the children, and have distributed relevant booklets addressed to children and to their parents, providing important information on dental hygiene, on diet, as well as a concise presentation of the results of the dental examination of each child separately.
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