By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS    

While the Honduran caravan of migrants fighting their way across the Mexican border in a mass movement to force undocumented entry into the United States may be causing national controversy across Mexico, there is a smaller but far more popular convoy traversing the country, with the sole goal of helping underprivileged women get access to quality medical care that could save their lives.

ADO, Mexico’s largest luxury bus company, in conjunction with the nonprofit Mexican Foundation for Breast Cancer (Fucam), launched a nationwide campaign on Monday, Oct. 15, to send out specialized mobile clinics to underdeveloped regions of the country that will offer free gynecological consultations and mammograms to women in order to provide early detection of the disease, which strikes eight in 10 Mexican women.

The caravan of ADO mammograms will visit the coastal city of Acapulco between Oct. 22 and Oct. 26, the Gulf of Mexico city Veracruz from Nov 5 through Nov. 7, the central city of Oaxaca from Nov. 12 through Nov. 16, and the southern Chiapas town of San Cristóbal de las Casas from Nov. 20 through Nov. 24.

Women who participate in the caravan program and require further medical studies will be offered free transport by ADO to Mexico City so that they can be treated at Fucam’s Breast Cancer Center.

This is the seventh straight year that ADO has worked with Fucam to provide the mobile breast cancer clinics.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for women in Mexico, killing about 15,000 each year.

Nearly 60 percent of all cases are detected late, after the disease has metastasized into other organs.

Early detection of breast cancer is the best way to survive the disease.