Cancer, Cancer Treatment

(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The majority of older Americans are not getting cancer screenings done, according to a new study. The research also finds doctors are not recommending the tests to patients for colorectal, breast and cervical cancer.

When detected early, these three types of cancers are potentially curable. The goal of the government’s Health People 2010 plan is to improve the number of screenings. One way to track this is through Medicaid patients who are some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. Study authors from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill looked at data on close to 2,000 North Carolina Medicaid recipients age 50 and older.

Researchers found cancer screenings were only recommended to 53 percent of the patients for colorectal cancer, 60 percent of patients for breast cancer and 52 percent of the patients for cervical cancer. The actual rates of screenings were even lower. They found 28 percent of the patients had colorectal cancer screening, 32 percent had a mammogram and 32 percent had the test for cervical cancer.

Authors say that despite access to full coverage of cancer screening services, these rates are substantially lower than those in the general population. They say lack of recommendation by the doctor appears to lead to most instances where a patient did not get screened. Further efforts are needed to increase cancer screenings among Medicaid recipients.

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008;168:2014-2021
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