SALISBURY – The Cannon Foundation and Cannon Charitable Trust awarded Novant Health Rowan Medical Center a $323,000 grant that will be used to purchase a custom-designed mobile mammogram unit.

The mobile unit will be outfitted with 3-D mammography, the first in the Novant Health system with that technology. Current fundraising efforts will pay for the mobile unit to be outfitted with 3-D technology.

The Novant Health Breast Center mobile mammography unit is a 38-foot, multi-functional vehicle that offers screening mammography services by traveling throughout the community. The purpose of the program is to increase access to mammography screening for women by bringing the service to the patient.  The program is a collaborative effort between the Novant Health Breast Center, Novant Health Foundation and the Cannon Foundation and Cannon Charitable Trust.

Novant Health Foundation Rowan Medical Center is now raising money to equip the unit to provide tomosynthesis, also known as 3-D mammography, which allows a woman’s breasts to be imaged from multiple angles. The angled images provide 1-millimeter-thin snapshots of the breast tissues that, collectively, provide radiologists a more detailed, three-dimensional view than standard two-dimensional mammograms. Better angles and a clearer view help with a more accurate diagnosis.

Women who would most benefit from 3-D mammography are those with dense breasts and those who have an increased risk of breast cancer. However, all women may benefit from a 3-D mammogram, as it has been shown to increase the cancer detection rate while decreasing callback rates. Detecting cancer early has known benefits including the possibility of less-expensive, less-invasive treatments that are usually less disfiguring for a patient.

The mobile unit will bring this 3-D technology to women who have not been able to get a mammogram due to busy schedules or transportation challenges. Rowan Medical Center’s mammography unit visited 81 sites in 2015, and has already visited 58 sites so far this year, with more than 50 more visits currently scheduled through the end of the year.

It is preferred that women have an appointment to get a mammogram on the mobile unit, but walk-ins are accepted based on availability. The 3-D mammogram may not be covered by health insurance and typically costs $55. Patients unable to afford a mammogram can complete an application to determine if they are eligible for support from breast cancer grants from the Komen Foundation and Focused on a Cure Foundation.

The Cannon Foundation awarded $275,000 to the Novant Health Foundation Rowan Medical Center in 2013 to refurbish a used mobile unit received from Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center. The funds also purchased a mammography unit that was installed in the mobile coach. In 2015, the organization also granted $250,000 to assist Rowan Medical Center in buying the first 3-D mammography for the Rowan area.

The Cannon Foundation is an independent foundation established in 1943 by Charles A. Cannon, president and chairman of Cannon Mills Co. for more than 50 years. Focused predominantly on North Carolina, this endowed foundation accepts unsolicited requests for grants, primarily for capital projects, one-time projects, and equipment with primary focus areas in healthcare, higher education and human services. Cannon established the trusts to carry on the charitable works which were a primary focus of his life.

For more information on fundraising or donations, contact Rick Parker at rdparker@novanthealth.org