Carelift International aids Lviv hospital (10/22/00)

Carelift International aids Lviv hospital

PHILADELPHIA - Carelift International, a humanitarian and health-care development organization, is currently working in Ukraine under a cooperative agreement with the United States Agency for International Development and preparing to send a mammography unit to the Lviv Clinical Railway Hospital.

The mammography unit, donated by Mayes County Medical Center in Pryor, Okla., and Siemens Medical Systems, will help support Carelift's work with Millard Fillmore Health Systems and the SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to increase access to breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment in Ukraine.

The partnership, which is spearheaded by the American International Health Alliance (AIHA) seeks, in part, to implement a comprehensive approach to women's health that will provide appropriate screening and treatment programs for breast cancer, standardize mammography procedures and develop an educational outreach program, including instruction in breast self-examination.

Carelift International used its expertise in medical technology to refurbish the mammography unit and convert it to international electrical standards, prior to clearing it for shipment to the Railway Hospital. Carelift staff also custom-designed packing materials to ensure safe transportation of the unit, which will be shipped with X-ray film and technical manuals to ensure that it is fully operational and ready for immediate use upon arrival at the hospital.

Over a two-month period this year the staff of the Lviv Railway Hospital saw 505 patients - of these 140 were referred for further diagnosis, such as ultrasound or biopsy. Cancer was diagnosed in 18 cases. The new equipment will double the capacity of physicians at the hospital to diagnose breast cancer at its early, most treatable stage.

"The new mammography machine will enable staff to reach even more women in need of crucial screening and diagnostic procedures, and the new equipment will target those with the greatest risk and highest need," said Bernice Bennett, AIHA senior program officer.

As the 12th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month is marked this October, breast cancer remains the leading cause of death for women in their early 40s worldwide. Ukraine stands as a stark contrast to the United States, where early detection and treatment methods have substantially reduced death rates for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Mortality rates from breast cancer in Ukraine and other countries once part of the USSR are nearly twice that of U.S. rates due, in part, to the lack of the life-saving medical technology needed for successful early diagnosis and treatment.

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