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Last Reviewed: June 6, 2008
Last Modified: Feb. 25, 2009
Content Source:
Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities (OMHD) |
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Eliminate Disparities
in Cancer Screening & Management
| What is the
Burden of Cancer in the United States? |
| Cancer is the second
leading cause of death in the United States, causing
more than 500,000 deaths each year.1
In the US, men have slightly less than a 1
in 2 lifetime risk of developing cancer; for women, the risk is a
little more than 1 in 3. 2
The National Institutes of Health estimate overall costs of cancer
in 2007 at $219.2 billion.2 |
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| Examples of Important
Health Disparities |
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African Americans |
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Although deaths caused by breast cancer have decreased among
white women, African-American women continue to have higher
rates of mortality from breast and cervical cancer.2
The
disproportionate burden
may be because many African-American women have not received regular
mammograms or Papanicolaou
(Pap) tests or follow-up treatment. |
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Incidence rates of cancer are highest
among African-Americans (607.3 per 100,000), followed by whites
(527.2), Hispanics (415.5), Asian/Pacific Islanders (325.8), and
American Indian/Alaska Natives (288.6) men.3 |
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Asian Americans |
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Vietnamese American women have a higher cervical cancer
incidence rate than any ethnic group in the United States ---five
times that of non-Hispanic white women.4 |
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Limited access to health care services and language and cultural
barriers are primary reasons for the low rates of screening and treatment
for other minority groups, such as Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska
Natives, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander women. |
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Promising Intervention Strategies |
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Modify lifestyles to reduce individual risk for cancer
-- tobacco
use, diet and nutrition -- and improve early detection. CDC and other
public health agencies, health care providers, and communities of all
racial and ethnic groups must become partners in a national effort to: |
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Improve early cancer detection through routine
mammography, Pap tests and
colorectal cancer screening; |
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Create additional public education campaigns;
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Develop research projects that will encourage
minority groups to participate in clinical trials for cancer prevention to
ensure that significant differences between minority and ethnic groups are
identified. |
| Minority groups’ access to cancer care and clinical trials has been
expanded to ensure that people in these communities are provided the same
quality, access, and state-of-the-art technology that patients in major
care centers receive. |
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| What can
Individuals do to Decrease Their Risk of Getting Cancer? |
| The number of new cancer cases can be
reduced, and many cancer deaths can be prevented. A person's
cancer risk can be significantly reduced by adopting a healthy
lifestyle, avoiding tobacco use, increasing physical activity,
achieving optimal weight, improving nutrition, and avoiding sun
exposure.5 |
| Early detection is the best opportunity
to reduce deaths; therefore, women at risk must make every effort to
receive mammograms and Pap smears on a regular basis so breast and
cervical cancer can be detected and treated. Persons at high
risk for colorectal cancer should follow guidelines on periodic
health evalutations. |
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| Ask your doctor about the following cancer
screening tests: |
| Women |
Men |
| Breast self exam |
Colonoscopy |
| Colonoscopy |
Digital rectal exam (DRE) |
| Mammogram |
Prostate specific antigen (PSA) test |
| Pap test |
Testicular self exam |
| Pelvic exam |
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The U.S. Preventive Service provides guidelines for recommended
preventive screenings for men and women. |
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Women: Stay Healthy at Any Age
Checklist |
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Men: Stay Healthy at Any Age
Checklist |
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| What is the Health Care
Provider’s Role to Help Reduce the
Cancer Burden? |
| Because fear, cost, and lack of physician referral
are three common barriers to cancer screening for women, health care
providers play a critical role in increasing cancer screening. |
| Physicians must address their patients’ fears by
describing how screening saves lives. |
| Health care providers must communicate
with their patients about low-cost or free cancer screening services
like the
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program
(NBCCEDP). |
| Because many women in minority
populations have limited means or do not
know how to access cancer treatment specialists, physicians must act
as trusted referral sources. |
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