Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Mediclinic aboard the PinkDrive

Posted on 11 October 2012

One in 29 South African women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime*… 

This figure is frightening. Yet with early detection and effective treatment, the prognosis is very good. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and earlier this year Mediclinic teamed up with the PinkDrive to help clear the backlog of mammograms at government health facilities.

As part of its commitment to giving back to the communities it serves, Mediclinic provided R250 000 for breast cancer testing at three community clinics, under the auspices of Tygerberg Hospital in the Western Cape. A total of 500 women were screened.

“Mediclinic is truly proud to be associated with PinkDrive and the groundbreaking work it is doing in bringing health screening to women who would otherwise not have undergone this type of testing due to economic circumstances. We believe in a progressive approach to the delivery of affordable and accessible quality healthcare in South Africa, and our corporate social investment (CSI) strategy makes an important contribution to achieving this objective,” says Dr Mvula Yoyo, Transformation Executive: Mediclinic Southern Africa.

“The joint project, dedicated to providing this simple but potentially life-saving test, is an excellent example of tier one of our CSI programme and represents the potential offered by public private collaboration in meeting the healthcare needs of the country. It is rewarding to be the first private hospital group to partner with an organisation such as PinkDrive to provide this essential primary healthcare service, thereby helping to clear the backlog of patients awaiting mammograms at state hospitals,” he adds.

Mediclinic’s CSI platform encompasses three tiers. Tier one comprises partnering with public hospitals to provide access to quality healthcare to a broader section of society, the second involves joint ventures to extend support to community-based organisations in the fields of health, sport, education and welfare and the third gives Mediclinic staff the opportunity to reach out to the community through volunteerism.

Nolene Kotschan, Founder and Director, PinkDrive

Mediclinic is providing R235 000 for a screening drive in Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal on 11, 12, and 15 October.

PinkDrive’s bright pink trucks pull up at clinics and hospitals across the country to provide free scanning and education to disadvantaged communities. These trucks, designed to appeal to women so that they will feel safe and comfortable, are fully-equipped, technologically advanced consulting rooms staffed by a qualified mammographer and a supporting nursing practitioner.