Oristano health service adds Saturday mammography screening hours

The Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) of Oristano will begin offering mammography screening on Saturday mornings from September, extending the previous Monday‑Friday schedule. The change aims to make the free breast‑cancer screening more accessible for working‑age women.

The regional screening programme, which is also free for colon‑rectal and cervical cancer tests, targets women aged 50‑69 for breast screening, women and men aged 50‑69 for colon‑rectal screening, and women aged 25‑64 for cervical screening. Invitations are sent by post and preceded by an SMS alert. Participants can attend the nearest ASL radiology unit for mammography, collect a stool‑sample kit from a pharmacy for colon testing, or undergo a pap test at a local family‑health centre.

Director of the Prevention Department Maria Valentina Marras explained that the Saturday slot is intended to increase uptake among employed women. She also noted that the mammography examinations are double‑read by two radiologists, a procedure that lowers the risk of false‑positive or false‑negative results.