In a report released on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute, cancer screening among Americans remains lower than national targets. While cancer is a growing issue in the U.S., some Americans are neglecting to screen for colon, breast, and cervical cancers.
According to the CDC, nearly 350,000 Americans are diagnosed with breast, cervical, or colorectal cancer annually, leading to about 100,000 deaths from these cancers. According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2010, about 11,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in the U.S., causing death in more than 4,000 women.
According to the CDC, in 2010, 72.4 percent of American women were screened for breast cancer, and 83 percent of American women were screened for cervical cancer. These screening rates are below the national targets of 81 percent and 93 percent, respectively.
For colon cancer, 58.6 percent of Americans are being screened, while the national target is 70.5 percent.
There are many explanations for why these national target screening rates are not being met. More importantly, there appears to be population disparities in screening rates. Some explanations include financial barriers and access to health care. In addition, education levels, age, and length of residence in the U.S. have been shown to have an influence.
According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, released on January 27th, Asians and Hispanics have been shown to have lower screening rates.
Among Asians, 64.1 percent of females are screened for breast cancer, while 75.4 percent are screened for cervical cancer. For colon cancer, about 47 percent of Asians are screened.
Among Hispanics, 78.7 percent of women screen for cervical cancer, and 64.1 percent of all Hispanics reported screening for colon cancer.
In most cases, early detection of cancer is discovered in routine screening of patients. However, sometimes people neglect to schedule appointments for screening, which puts them at risk for treating a more advanced stage cancer.
On other hand, too much screening can lead to over treatment of conditions, which can create more problems and discomfort than before.
Finding a balance between cancer screening and not screening is important because screening has been shown to help reduce the number of cancer deaths. With advancing technology and devices, screening methods have improved, which should build confidence in the results.
According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, women, aged 50-years-old and older, should have a mammogram to screen for breast cancer every two years. In addition, women between the ages of 21 and 65-years-old should have a Pap smear performed at least every three years to screen for cervical cancer. Lastly, all Americans between the ages of 50 and 75-years-old should have a colonoscopy every 10 years, or an annual fecal occult blood test, or a sigmoidoscopy every five years.
Trends in cancer screening show minor changes between 2000 and 2010. For breast cancer, screening rates fluctuated by three percent. Cervical cancer rates decreased by three percent. However, colon cancer screening increased the most over the ten year period, up to 59 percent. This increase in colon cancer could be due to having access to multiple methods for colon cancer screening.
The Affordable Care Act may relieve some barriers to access of cancer screening by expanding insurance coverage.
