23 July 2009
GE HEALTHCARE PARTICIPATES IN THE CREATION OF CHINA BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION'S REGIONAL SCREENING NETWORK IN SICHUAN PROVINCE
Network will provide improved access, diagnosis and treatment for more than 10,000 women in earthquake-stricken region
BEIJING, July 23, 2009 -- GE Healthcare, a division of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), announced today its participation in a three year project to establish a regional breast-cancer screening network in Deyang, a city in China’s earthquake-stricken Sichuan province, and its surrounding counties.
Through its partnership with China Breast Cancer Foundation and several other organizations, like the Avon Foundation For Women and Give2Asia Foundation, who together are donating US$5 million to the project, GE Healthcare will provide medical equipment and training resources to help create a network that aims to increase the access to breast cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment, including remote diagnosis for more rural areas. In addition, the breast cancer screening network will offer training to doctors and information on breast cancer to the general public, and will collect data for scientific research.
The China Breast Cancer Foundation will collaborate with the Institute of Health Economics of China’s Ministry of Health on a health economics study based on the data the network collects, that aims to explore a disease-management model for breast cancer in China. Other collaborators to the study are, Deyang People's Hospital and GE Healthcare’s health economics organization.
Since 2004, the incidence of breast cancer in the region has risen significantly, with 1,200 new cases reported and more than 400 women dying of breast cancer each year in Deyang . The city was at the heart of the massive Sichuan earthquake in May 2008 and that has led to inadequate medical facilities and institutions in this historically under-developed region, as well as a shortage of physicians. As a result, breast-cancer patients in Deyang do not have access to lumpectomies and other breast-conserving options; leaving radical mastectomy the only option for women diagnosed with breast cancer, regardless of the size and location of the tumors.
"During the first phase of this project, we will establish a world-class comprehensive breast care center at Deyang City People's Hospital,” said Professor Xu Guangwei, vice chairman of China Breast Cancer Foundation and Former President of the China Anti-cancer Association. “This center will serve as the core of the regional network and will provide annual breast-cancer screenings at a lower cost for 10,000 women in Deyang City and two free treatments for Wenchuan earthquake affected women and those living in poverty, at least 5,000 high-quality outpatient consultations and 500 comprehensive treatments for in-patients.”
George Cao, general manager of GE Healthcare’s Marketing and Enterprise Business in China, noted that GE has a wealth of experience working on breast-cancer screening and disease management with governments and non-governmental organizations in a number of countries.
“This donation supports our ‘healthymagination’ initiative,” said Cao, “the goal of which is to make quality healthcare accessible and affordable everywhere in the world, particularly in underserved markets in the developing world. We also expect to use this valuable experience to help establish a three-tier breast cancer consultation network platform to help solve the shortage of grass-roots breast care specialists in China.”
Senior government officials from China Ministry of Civil Affairs, Chinese National Women Association, and Sichuan Bureau of Health, participated in the ceremony and unveiled several ceremony plaques. Representatives from GE Healthcare and other fund donors, Avon Foundation For Women and Give2Asia Foundation, also attended the ceremony.
GE Healthcare is strongly committed to the fight against breast cancer and proactively participates in several initiatives to create awareness, promote early detection and provide access to an accurate diagnosis of breast cancer for more women in China.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.
Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at http://www.gehealthcare.com/' target='_blank'>www.gehealthcare.com For further information, please contact:
Jiacheng Li
Strategic Marketing Manager
GE Healthcare, China
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