Kauvery Hospital Launches Mobile Mammogram Unit for Doorstep Screening in Chennai

Kauvery Hospital on Thursday launched a mobile mammogram unit to provide doorstep breast and cervical cancer screening services for women across suburban and urban regions of Chennai. The vehicle, which is designed to improve access to early cancer detection, was flagged off by the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, P. Venkataramanan.

The mobile unit is a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative undertaken by Kauvery Hospital in association with the Lions Club of Chennai, KVG Charitable Trust, and Lions District 3241 C.

Equipped to provide digital mammography screening, the vehicle will travel directly to residential areas, workplaces, community centres, and other locations across Chennai. In addition to mammograms, the unit will offer pap smear and colposcopy services to help women prioritise preventive health.

The service will be entirely women-led, featuring female doctors and radiologists on board to address privacy concerns. Aravindan Selvaraj, co-founder and executive director of Kauvery Hospital, noted that women's health is often ignored and many hesitate to undergo breast examinations, mammograms, and cervical pap smears due to privacy issues. He stated that complications primarily arise from the late diagnosis of breast cancers.

During the launch, Selvaraj requested the Minister to implement government measures to send reminders to women over the age of 40 to get screened for breast cancer once every three years.

Minister P. Venkataramanan emphasized the critical need to create greater awareness about cancer screening among women.

Kavitha Sundaravadanam, a senior family physician, highlighted that many women skip regular health check-ups and avoid breast screening due to fear or unwillingness. She stressed the importance of undergoing breast cancer screening once every two years and a pap smear once every three years.

Sujay Susikar, senior consultant in surgical oncology and robotic surgery, added that early detection of breast cancer makes treatment complete, easy, and increases the possibility of a cure.

Other dignitaries present at the launch included S. Bose, District Governor-3241 C of Lions International; K.V. Gopalakrishnan, chairman of Lions Club of Chennai, KVG Charitable Trust; Iyappan Ponnuswamy, medical director of Kauvery Hospital; and Mahesh Kumar, medical superintendent of Kauvery Hospital.