The Mammobile, a mobile breast cancer screening unit, will resume its tour of the Ariège department in October and November, offering free mammograms in towns across the region ahead of Pink October, the annual breast cancer awareness campaign.
Organisers said the initiative is meant to allow women to benefit from a screening exam without needing to travel to a fixed radiology centre.
Twelve stops across Ariège
The autumn tour will begin on October 1 in Saverdun, followed by Foix on October 5, Pamiers on October 6, Saint-Jean-du-Falga on October 7 and Lavelanet on October 8.
The mobile unit will then resume its route on November 9 in Varilhes, before stopping in Laroque-d'Olmes on November 10, Tarascon-sur-Ariège on November 12, Pamiers again on November 16, Verniolle on November 17, Mirepoix on November 18 and Montgailhard on November 19.
How to book an appointment
The exam can be carried out without a doctor's prescription. Appointments can be booked on the Doctolib platform by searching "Mammobile Ariège", or directly by phone.
Consultations run from 9am to 12:30pm and from 1pm to 6pm. The service is aimed primarily at women aged 50 to 74 who have not had a screening exam in at least two years.
Backing Pink October in rural areas
The public health initiative is supported by the Agence régionale de santé Occitanie, the regional health authority, and the Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie, the local branch of France's national health insurance system. The main goal remains to make early screening easier to access in rural areas.
The tour comes as pharmacies elsewhere have described difficulties getting patients timely appointments in areas short of doctors during past Pink October campaigns.
Pink October events in Ariège have drawn large crowds in previous years, including a cancer awareness walk in Foix that set a local attendance record.
Pink October is an international campaign held every October to raise awareness of breast cancer and encourage screening. Mobile units like the Mammobile are used in rural departments such as Ariège, in the Occitanie region of southern France, where fixed screening centres can be harder to reach.
