Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among black women in the U.S. not because black women are more likely to develop cancer, but it's more likely to be detected at a later stage, according to experts.

But here in Newark, the numbers are staggeringly worse.

Black women are diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, about twice the national average.

So to combat, this university hospital is rolling out a mobile mammography van to screen women right where they are.

Raven Santana has more.

Meet the new mobile mammography bus that's rolling out hope and life saving mammograms across Essex County.

So by having the mobile van, what we're able to do is to go to where people congregate, where people associate and where people feel comfortable.

Ed Jimenez is the president and chief executive officer of University Hospital.

The hospital partnered with the Health Care Foundation of New Jersey and the Connie Dwyer Breast Cancer Foundation to invest $1.2 million into the mammography bus.

It will deliver preventative health care services to women through Essex County, where the rates of late stage breast cancer are among the highest in the state.

Winning women that get screening mammograms, some portion of them will have what is called they're called findings of people who have findings, roughly 6% who have very advanced breast cancer.

So 6% may sound like a small number, may sound like a big number.

That's the national number for the people we screen that are the residents of the city of Newark.

We're having an 11% finding of severe disease, nearly double.

To combat these troubling statistics, the bus will bring care on the road to more than 4000 residents a year.

And the new vehicle is equipped with state of the art technology, including private exam rooms and even a registration area.

We anticipate that our flow time for patients should really not be more than 30 to 40 minutes, that by getting here, completing their check in and going through their procedure, we should be able to do at least 25 mammograms on the bus.

And with that, our bus is about 45 feet long, 13 feet high, and about 13 feet wide.

So we do take some space on the bus.

You have, of course, the typical registration area.

You come in, you can check in.

We do have an exam, a full examination room that a doctor can conduct any examination.

Valencia Maponya is the mobile health manager for University Hospital.

She stresses that no matter what your situation is, no one will be turned away.

We do take insurance.

And in terms of women who are uninsured or underinsured, we do have the SAFE program that if you meet eligibility, that will cover you.

And then the third tranche of it, if you don't meet the elements that have no insurance, we still have a robust charity care system that we will have women apply to.

Maponya says early detection really is the difference between life and death for black women.

White woman are diagnosed with breast cancer at a higher number, but black women die of breast cancer at a higher number.

That's a problem.

We have a very unique population in Newark.

It also has a very high population of Nigerian descent.

Now, this is important because this particular population has a much higher rate of aggressive breast cancers than any other group in the world.

These women come into the emergency room in their thirties with breast cancer that is already stage four.

Save the woman and save the family.

It's so true.

And I would add to that save the society.

Jimenez says the bus will now be a staple for the hospital.

He says the immediate goal is to screen as many women as possible, in turn, spreading breast cancer education awareness and support to populations that need it the most.

For NJ Spotlight News I'm Raven Santana.