Colorectal Cancer Screening Underused
Reported July 15, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) Despite the publicity about the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening, some doctors say many people arent getting the message.
According to information collected by the Centers for Disease Control only 50 percent of men and women over 50 years old went for screening in 2005. Although thats up from 43 percent in 2000, investigators say the numbers are still too low.
Jean A. Shapiro, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control says a major problem seems to be insurance coverage. Fifty percent of the people who had coverage were screened compared to only 24.1 percent of the uninsured. People with a regular source of health care were 51.9 percent more likely to get tested. For those who did not have a regular source of health care, the screening rate dropped to 24.7 percent.
Shapiro concluded, If we can increase the number of people who have health care coverage we would be able to increase colorectal cancer screening rates.
Education also affected screening rates. Almost 61 percent of college graduates got screened while only 37 percent of those who stopped at the high school level went for the test. Other factors influencing screening included higher income and frequent contact with a doctor. The research also revealed half of the patients who didnt go for testing said they had never thought of it and 20 percent said their doctor didnt order it.
Colorectal cancer is one of the leading cancer killers behind lung cancer. Screening has been shown to significantly reduce mortality from colorectal cancer, Shapiro was quoted as saying. Many doctors are aware but some may still need to be educated about the importance of colorectal cancer screening.
SOURCE: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, July 2008