CDC: More Cancer Screenings Needed to Save Lives
CDC: More Cancer Screenings Needed to Save Lives
Colon Cancer Screenings and Mammograms on the Rise, but There's Room for Improvement
July 6, 2010 -- Screenings for colorectal and breast cancer are saving many thousands of lives, but the country could do much better at reducing deaths, the CDC says.
The agency says in its new monthly report, CDC Vital Signs, that thousands of people died last year because they weren't screened for colorectal or breast cancer, but the death toll could be reduced.
The report says that:
"It's encouraging to see more adults getting recommended cancer screenings," CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, says in a news release. "But we have more to do, especially when it comes to getting more people screened for colorectal cancer, which kills more American nonsmokers than any other cancer."
The researchers used the most recent data available from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to determine the number of people getting screening.
"Tragically, one in three people who should be screened for colorectal cancer have not yet done so, and rates are even lower among Hispanics and blacks," he says. "Each year about 12,000 lives are saved as a result of mammography and an additional 32,000 lives could be saved if every adult aged 50 year or older got tested regularly for colorectal cancer."
After lung cancer, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., the report says. Breast cancer is the most commonly found cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S.
Slideshow: Colorectal Cancer Overview
Frieden said in a news briefing that though progress has been made in saving lives, more could be with additional screenings. He said that what's known as the "Katie Couric effect" is still inducing people to get screened for colon cancer.
CDC: More Cancer Screenings Needed to Save Lives
Colon Cancer Screenings and Mammograms on the Rise, but There's Room for Improvement
July 6, 2010 -- Screenings for colorectal and breast cancer are saving many thousands of lives, but the country could do much better at reducing deaths, the CDC says.
The agency says in its new monthly report, CDC Vital Signs, that thousands of people died last year because they weren't screened for colorectal or breast cancer, but the death toll could be reduced.
The report says that:
- Colorectal screening increased from 52% in 2002 to 63% in 2008.
- 81% of women 50-74 reported that they had mammography screening for breast cancer within the past two years in 2008.
- About 22 million men and women have not had a potentially life-saving screening for colorectal cancer.
- 7 million women 50-74 have not had a recent mammogram.
"It's encouraging to see more adults getting recommended cancer screenings," CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, says in a news release. "But we have more to do, especially when it comes to getting more people screened for colorectal cancer, which kills more American nonsmokers than any other cancer."
The researchers used the most recent data available from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to determine the number of people getting screening.
"Tragically, one in three people who should be screened for colorectal cancer have not yet done so, and rates are even lower among Hispanics and blacks," he says. "Each year about 12,000 lives are saved as a result of mammography and an additional 32,000 lives could be saved if every adult aged 50 year or older got tested regularly for colorectal cancer."
After lung cancer, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., the report says. Breast cancer is the most commonly found cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S.
Slideshow: Colorectal Cancer Overview
'Katie Couric Effect'
Frieden said in a news briefing that though progress has been made in saving lives, more could be with additional screenings. He said that what's known as the "Katie Couric effect" is still inducing people to get screened for colon cancer.
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