Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Hungarian post office screens for cancer

United Press International is reporting that Hungary's national post office, Magyar Posta, has begun checking women for cervical cancer for free in a specially designed mobile laboratory in a truck.

Now on a 2-month trial run in the south of the country, the unusual postal service is screening as many 50 women per day, the MTI news agency reported Tuesday.

The report did not indicate how the decision was made for the state agency to enter into the medical field, but said funding was made possible for the $240,000 lab truck based on a decision last year not to send Christmas presents to postal business partners.

Around 400-600 women die in Hungary every year from cervical cancer, a much higher rate than in the rest of Europe, said Medical Officer Ferenc Kovacs. Currently only around 3-5 percent of potential sufferers are screened, he said.

For more on Magyar Posta, click here.
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posted by Don Schilling at 12:01 AM