Health Minister K.K. Shylaja on Monday inaugurated a mobile mammogram unit at the General Hospital (GH), making available modern screening facility to the poor to detect breast cancer.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said the State had a clear cancer care policy to help the poor.
More than 50,000 cases of cancer were reported every year, she said. It had become one of the prominent non-communicable diseases, but if detected early, most cancers could be treated successfully, the Minister said. The mobile digital mammogram unit would be made available at all taluk hospitals in the district. A statement by the Public Relations Department said it was the first mobile digital mammogram scheme in the country at a cost of ₹2 crore.