THE Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) says the recently purchased mammography machine will save it approximately $2 million per year in providing mammograms at its clinic.

Executive director of the JCS Yulit Gordon said the General Electric Healthcare Alpha RT Mammography Unit and the Konica Minolta Nano A Class Mammography Computed Radiography machines cost the society $16 million and is expected to reduce expenditure because it does not require the use of chemicals that the organisation would usually purchase.

Gordon, who was speaking at the dedication of the new machine on Wednesday in Kingston, said it is also expected to decrease the workload of the radiographer as well as increase the accuracy of the diagnosis of patients’ images.

Gordon said the new technology provides “more accurate diagnosis and a faster turnaround time”, as the images are now viewed and diagnosed on a high resolution five mega pixel monitor.

“Those days of waiting 10 days to get back your results are a thing of the past now,” said Gordon, who also boasted that “it [the machine] is now less labour intensive, as images can now be stored on the Computed Radiography Hard Drive instead of a physical space for film storage.

“The acquisition of this unit will make a great difference in the lives of those who will benefit from early diagnosis [of breast cancer] and by extension it will also make a difference for their families,” said Granville Gayle, senior vice-president of the National Health Fund (NHF).

He said his organisation was committed to reducing the financial burden of persons afflicted with breast cancer and other non-communicable diseases.

“Currently there are a total of 5,442 persons enrolled for breast cancer with the NHF; these individuals benefit from the reduction in the cost of their medication with their NHF card,” Gayle said. He said of the number of persons registered for breast cancer treatment 307 are men.

Minister of Health Fenton Ferguson expressed delight in the existence of such a machine in Jamaica. He said its acquisition coincides with the ministry’s plan for cancer care in the island.

Highlighting that breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in Jamaican women, Dr Ferguson said his ministry will continue to “stress the need for preventative care and the promotion of healthy lifestyles”, which he said would assist in the reduction of the development of breast cancer and other chronic diseases.

“It is hoped that this new unit will facilitate even more screenings for the next five years,” Ferguson said.

He said that coupled with this initiative, the Government has also implemented measures to further improve the services available to cancer patients with the ambulatory Chemotherapy Suite at the Kingston Public Hospital and was in the process of purchasing two Linear Accelerators to provide radiation treatment for cancer patients.

The minister thanked the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, Supreme Ventures, Bank of Nova Scotia and the NHF for their continued support of the cancer society and their help in the fund-raising initiatives for the purchase of the new machine.

Elated radiographer Donnet Hyman told the minister that “the patients have been loving the new technology”.

Using the old machine, the JCS screened 8,500 women last year and is hoping to increase the number to 10,000 women this year.