Life-saving technology on a roll in the metro

Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Many cases are caught early thanks to mammograms and now those mammograms are coming to you.

It's small in size but its impact is no doubt much bigger. It's our first time inside Methodist Health System's Mobile 3D Mammography Coach.

The first stop on its trek around the metro Wednesday was at OneWorld Community Health near 30th and L streets.

Maria Hernandez said, “It's better to prevent and be healthy than to have that horrible disease or lose a part of your body."

Hernandez was one of the first to get her mammogram this way.

Karen Daneu said, "There's the issue of transportation. There's the issue of making sure that you prioritize your own breast health. There's the issue of convenience."

Daneu is the Executive Director of Susan G. Komen Great Plains. They, along with First National Bank, are partnering with Methodist Health Systems to make this possible.

First National paid for the mammograms done Wednesday.

Donors and Methodist employees raised nearly $675,000 to buy the coach, a vehicle made more important since Nebraska is ranked 40th in the country for women 40 and older who have had a mammogram in the past two years.

Sharlon Rodgers said, "Early detection has such a pivotal role in the prognosis for women who might, by chance, get diagnosed with cancer."

Sixteen women had a mammogram at the mobile site on Wednesday. Of those, 12 had it done for the first time - a trend of prevention organizers hope will continue to grow.

The mammography coach will be at Charles Drew Health Center in North Omaha on Friday.

The goal is to help the business community, the uninsured and the underinsured.

We're told businesses can schedule a time they'd like to have the coach on-site so employees can get screened.