Screening rates for Cancer is still less than National targets in U.S.; Reports
On Thrusday, January 26, Federal health officials said that the number of Americans being screened for different types of cancer is still less than the national health target.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), out of thousand only 724 women prefer screening for breast cancer in 2010, while the target was 81%. The target for cervical and colon cancer was 93% and 70.5% respectively, but only 83% of women for cervical cancer and 58.6% for colon cancer were screened in America.
Mary C. White, report co-author and branch chief of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control said, “Not all Americans are getting the recommended screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer”. Mary said, “There continue to be disparities for certain populations.”
According to the report, Asians and Hispanics have low rates of screening. Researchers have found that Asians have 64.1% screening rate for breast cancer, 75.4% for cervical cancer, and 46.9% for colon cancer. On the other hand, Hispanics showed 78.7% and 46.5% screening rates for cervical and colon cancer respectively.
“It is troubling to see that not all Americans are getting the recommended cancer screenings and that disparities continue to persist for certain populations. Screening can find breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers at an early stage when treatment is more effective,” said Sallyann Coleman King, M.D., an epidemic intelligence service officer in CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and lead author of the study. “We must continue to monitor cancer screening rates to improve the health of all Americans.”
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