The parking lot of the Safeway headquarters in Bellevue hardly seems like a health-care center. But for the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance’s MammoVan, it’s a regular stop to bring breast imaging services to women.

To reach out to more women in the area, the MammoVan, a mobile mammography van, sets up shop in different locations throughout the month. It will be back in the Safeway lot on Tuesday, Dec. 9 and Wednesday, Dec. 24. The MammoVan also will be stopping by locations in Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, Shoreline, Federal Way and Kent. (Visit www.seattlecca.org for a full calendar listing of destination and available appointment times.)

Digital mammography, a non-invasive X-ray of the breast, can detect breast cancer at its earliest, most curable stages. The SCCA was the first to offer digital mammography in Seattle. Women age 40 and over should have routine screening mammograms for breast cancer on a yearly basis, health officials say.

According to the SCCA, between 1987 and 2000, the percentage of 40 year-old women in the U.S. who reported having a mammogram during the previous two years increased dramatically from 39.1 percent to 70.1 percent. Early detection has aided in reducing mortality from this disease.

The SCCA’s state-of-the-art mobile digital mammography van was donated by Safeway.

To schedule a mammogram at SCCA’s Women’s Center or find out when the SCCA Mobile Mammography Van (the MammoVan) will be in your area, call 206-288-7800.

Lindsay Larin can be reached at llarin@reporternewspapers.com or 425-453-4602.