Breast health rarely feels urgent until it does — and MAMI (Melrose Arch Mammography) wants to change that mindset while South Africa observes Women’s Month this August. From its base in Melrose Arch, the centre is inviting women across Johannesburg to treat a breast check as a normal act of self-care rather than a task perpetually pushed aside, and it is welcoming anyone who simply needs clear direction on how to start.
Across the country, August prompts a national conversation about the health, safety and wellbeing of women. For a practice devoted to breast imaging, that conversation translates into something concrete. Detecting problems early is still among the surest routes to better outcomes, and it hinges on two things: women being able to reach accurate imaging, and feeling at ease enough to make the booking. MAMI’s aim is for this month to be the one in which more women finally take that first step.
A centre built around women’s imaging
MAMI is the new face of Parklane Women’s Imaging Centre. The same team of staff and radiologists, along with the same state-of-the-art equipment, has simply relocated to a roomy and readily accessible department in Melrose Arch. Because the Parklane practice was Africa’s first internationally accredited breast imaging unit, that legacy still informs how the team operates day to day.
Patients at MAMI benefit from highly experienced doctors and the newest imaging technology for Mammograms, ultrasound and biopsy. Medical excellence is the goal, yet the team gives equal attention to keeping the environment calm and caring. For plenty of women, the real obstacle is not the procedure but the worry that surrounds it, and both the rooms and the overall approach have been shaped specifically to ease that.
Arranging a Mammogram here is a simple matter, and the staff are well practised at walking first-time patients through every stage of what lies ahead. That kind of reassurance counts, since a woman who understands the process is much more inclined to come back for her next routine appointment.
Accreditation that stands behind the results
No other unit in South Africa holds the Breast Imaging Center of Excellence designation from the American College of Radiology — MAMI alone carries it. The ACR conferred that honour in 2022, building on a run of individual accreditations: mammography in 2017, MRI in 2018, stereotactic biopsy in 2020 and breast ultrasound in 2021.
That ACR gold seal stands for the highest standards of image quality and patient safety. Facilities earn it only by satisfying ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards, and only after board-certified physicians and medical physicists complete a peer-review evaluation. Reviewers scrutinise image quality, staff qualifications, the suitability of equipment, and the quality control and quality assurance systems in operation. For any woman choosing where to be scanned, that accreditation offers a plain assurance that the images guiding her doctor were created to a standard recognised worldwide.
A full range of breast services
A single test is only part of what the centre delivers. Beyond mammography, MAMI offers breast ultrasound, breast biopsies carried out under ultrasound or mammographic guidance with local anaesthesia, bone density and body composition scans, and breast cancer scar management massage. It is also the country’s only provider of cancer cryoablation — a distinction that underlines its standing among South Africa’s foremost breast cancer teams.
Because of that range, a patient can progress from an initial Breast Examination to any subsequent imaging or procedure inside the same accredited unit, overseen by radiologists already familiar with her history. Should a biopsy be required, small samples are collected with a biopsy needle and sent to the pathologist for microscopy and further testing, which helps establish whether a lump is a cancer and, if it is, which type. Keeping that whole pathway in one place cuts down on the waiting and the anxiety that so often accompany breast investigations.
The practice welcomes a broad spectrum of patients, from those arriving for a first routine screening to others returning for follow-up after an earlier finding. That variety is precisely why the team stresses continuity of care so heavily. When a woman is scanned, assessed and, if necessary, biopsied within the same accredited unit, her radiologists develop a clear sense of her breast health as the years pass. It is frequently the comparison between this year’s images and last year’s that lets a subtle change be caught in good time.
Why the timing matters
Women’s Month serves as a useful nudge, but MAMI is deliberate about presenting breast health as a year-round practice rather than a one-off gesture. Screening delivers the most value when it is done consistently, so the practice urges women to think of it as a continuing routine shaped by their age, their family history and their doctor’s advice. The heightened awareness August brings is valuable exactly because it can convert good intentions into a confirmed appointment.
The team is also mindful that women often shoulder much of the responsibility for the health of everyone around them, frequently letting their own checks slide. This month’s message is therefore uncomplicated: tending to your own health is no indulgence, and a scan booked today is one fewer thing left hanging. By lowering both the practical and the emotional hurdles to getting checked, MAMI hopes more women in Johannesburg will make breast imaging a fixed part of their schedule.
Accessibility forms another strand of the message. The Melrose Arch site was picked for its convenience, complete with parking and an inviting department that feels nothing like a hospital corridor. For women who have delayed a scan because the prospect seemed intimidating, that environment is meant to render the visit as routine and unrushed as any other appointment. The centre would far rather a woman turn up full of questions than stay away altogether.
Anyone wanting to know more about the centre and what it offers can find the full information on the MAMI website at https://mammogram.co.za/.
About MAMI (Melrose Arch Mammography)
MAMI (Melrose Arch Mammography) is a dedicated breast imaging centre in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, and the new face of Parklane Women’s Imaging Centre. It provides mammograms, breast ultrasound, breast biopsies, bone density and body composition scans, breast cancer scar management massage, and cancer cryoablation. Under the leadership of Diagnostic Radiologist and Managing Director Dr Peter Schoub, it is the only unit in South Africa to hold the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Center of Excellence designation, extending the legacy of the first internationally accredited breast imaging unit in Africa.
Media Contact
MAMI (Melrose Arch Mammography)
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +27 11 484 3149
Website: https://mammogram.co.za/
