The Vásárhely Health Programme (EVP) of the CSMEK Hódmezővásárhely-Makó, Hódmezővásárhely has submitted a tender together with the Dr.Bugyi István Hospital of Csongrád County, Szentes and the Vasile Goldis University, Arad for European Union financial sources. Their aim is to make the fight against breast-cancer more effective in the Hungarian region as well as across the border in Romania, thus with new and proper infrastructure, the affected women can be reached more easily.

Breast cancer is one of the most common lethal cancer types: according to estimations if the current trend does not change, in the next 25 years more than 25 million women can be diagnosed with this type of disease worldwide and more than 10 million cases will prove to be fatal. In Hungary, more than 2000 women die because of breast cancer in a year: we lose 5 mothers, wives or daughters due to this merciless disease in a day; one woman in every five hours.

This is an extremely high number considering that with early diagnosis breast cancer is curable. To make early diagnosis possible and to fight effectively against breast cancer, proper infrastructure is needed as well as women to attend screenings regularly.

Introducing the project objectives
Main objectives of the project
The main objective of the project is to decrease the mortality rate due to breast cancer in the regions near the border (subregion of Hódmezővásárhely, Szentes and Arad). The three centres are determined to reach this goal through joint professional and organizational directives, thus increasing the ratio of participation at the mammography screenings, which contributes to early diagnosis and treatment, reducing the former mentioned mortality rate.

Other objectives of the project

• Developing the infrastructural, organizational and human resources of the mammography screening in the three region
• Establishing the infrastructural conditions in all 3 institutions (rebuilding buildings, acquisition of equipment)
• Forming and supporting the target group’s call-in system and the participation-monitoring on the basis of professional directives, as well as adapting them to the local specialities
• Professional training of the personnel working in the field of radiology, oncology and surgery at the three institutions
• Developing the health literacy concerning breast cancer among the citizens of the region
• Rehabilitation and mental support of the diagnosed and already operated patients

Activities of the project:

1. Acquisition of a standard, complex system in the three centres to increase diagnostic effectiveness, thus using the opportunities provided by teleradiology

• PACS – picture archiving and communication system
• digital mammography units to the centres
• digital ultrasound devices to all three locations
• establishing a fourth location to evaluate the results
• developing the infrastructure of the breast-cancer screening bus

2. Other important developments

• IT development
• development of pathology
• IT development of the evaluating unit – acquisition of dictaphones and voice recognition software

3. Rebuilding of mammography building and building the office of EVP
4. Forming call-in systems at each centre and establishing the integrated participation-monitoring together with the related IT background
5. Operation of the screening bus in the subregion of Hódmezővásárhely and Szentes
6. Organizing trainings

• professional training of assistants in order to get quality records
• training of radiologists, oncologists, surgeons and pathologists
• training of volunteers to help with the rehabilitation and mental support of patients
• communicational training for the personnel

7. Communicational activities

• broaden the knowledge of the citizens about breast cancer and mammography screening with the help of communicational tools and making the target group more sensitive towards the topic
• introducing the call-in system of the screening at a self-organized conference
• different activities to increase the ratio of participation at the screenings: residential events, publishing informative brochures and promotional materials
• communicating the results of the project