Although screening tests are widely available, many cancers aren't diagnosed until the disease is well-advanced and, therefore, less treatable, a new U.S. government report finds, HealthDay reports. Almost one-half of colorectal cancers and cervical cancers and one-third of breast cancers in the U.S. are detected at a late stage, according to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report also found that Latinas ages 50-79 have the highest rates of late-stage cervical cancer. Yet, if caught early, these three cancers have very high survival rates. "People need to be aware of what they need to have done medically and follow-up with their providers," said report co-author Dr. Lisa Richardson, associate director for science in CDC's Division of Cancer ...
White women with private insurance waited an average of 15.9 days between breast cancer testing and confirmatory diagnosis, while privately insured black women waited 27.1 days and Latinas 51.4 days, according to a new study. The study, which involved almost 1,000 women examined for breast cancer, indicates that race/ethnicity plays a larger role than insurance in getting a timely breast cancer diagnosis. For women on Medicare or Medicaid, the wait between testing and diagnosis was 11.9 days for whites, 39.4 days for blacks and 70.8 days for Latinas. Among those without insurance, the wait was 44.5 days for whites compared with 59.7 days for blacks and 66.5 days for ...
Once again, here's more evidence that underscores the importance of breast cancer screening for Latinas: From the Houston Chronicle:
Mexican-American women are diagnosed with breast cancer at a significantly younger age than Caucasian women, a surprising finding from a new study that raises more questions about the recent push to delay routine screening.
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers surveyed women in Hispanic neighborhoods in Harris County and found nearly half of those with the potentially deadly disease were diagnosed before they turned 50, about 10 years earlier than the national average for all women.
"This study shows the need to consider all populations when developing prevention and screening strategies," said Melissa Bondy, an M.D. Anderson ...
Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of adults ages 50-75 who had undergone screening for colorectal cancer with a method recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force rose from 51.9 percent to 62.9 percent, according to new CDC figures published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. During the same time period, the percentage of women ages 50-74 who had received a mammogram in the previous 2 years declined slightly, from 81.5 percent to 81.1 percent. Adults ages 50-59, Hispanics, and persons with lower income, less than a high school education, and without health insurance were least likely to have been screened for colorectal cancer. Women ages 50-59, women with less than a high school education, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, women without health insurance, ...
More than 22 million adults have not had screening tests for colon cancer, and more than 7 million women have not had a recent mammogram to screen for breast cancer as recommended, according to reports in a new monthly scientific publication called CDC Vital Signs. About a third of people are not getting colon cancer screening, which can detect the disease early when it is most treatable. This could be because they don't know they can get colon cancer, they don't have insurance or a doctor (a more likely case among Latinos), or their doctor hasn't recommended screening. Some women are not getting mammograms as recommended. About one of five women between the ages of 50 and 74 has not had a mammogram in the past two years. Latinas get screened at an even less frequent rate. The CDC ...
Latinas, even if you've heard it before, please listen: Cancer screening can save your life. To see why, watch our new dramatic PSA where a Latino family with a history of breast cancer discusses the importance of getting a mammogram that can detect breast cancer early, when it's most treatable: Watch in Spanish here. Please leave a comment on how you liked the PSA. For cancer info, call ...
Some risk factors known to increase the odds of breast cancer in white women have less impact on Hispanic women, a new study shows, HealthDay reports. For instance, for postmenopausal women in the study, "recent hormone use and younger age at menarche did not appear to play as big a role in Hispanics." For younger women, family history and taller height, which normally slightly increase breast cancer risk, did not appear to be as strongly linked with breast cancer among Hispanics as among whites, according to the study published online April 26 in Cancer. Established risk factors accounted for up to 75 percent of breast cancers in younger white women, but just 36 percent in similar-aged Hispanic women. In older women, it was 62 percent in whites and just 7 percent in Hispanics. From ...
Please watch our new Latino cancer PSA: "Fast Life." This true-to-life PSA shows that, despite busy lives, Latinas ages 40 and older should set aside time to take care of their own health and get their mammogram each year that can detect breast cancer early, when it is most treatable. Watch in English: Or watch in Spanish: How did this PSA affect you? Did it move you? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments ...
