HHS promotes screening for colorectal cancer -- June 2002 -- FP Report

June 2002 • Volume 8 • Number 6

• Cancer & the FP •

HHS promotes screening for colorectal cancer

Let's face it: Being screened for colorectal cancer isn't high on your list of "Things-I-can't-wait-to-do," is it? Chances are, your patients feel the same way.

But solid evidence shows screening saves lives. And when you're talking about the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, that translates into some heavy-duty numbers.

Consider a few salient points:

According to the CDC, colorectal cancer is most common in persons over age 50, with 93 percent of cases occurring in this age group.
About 90 million Americans are at risk for developing the disease.
An estimated 148,300 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year. About 56,600 will die from it.
Study findings indicate that at least one-third of these deaths could be prevented with regular screening.

Yet compared with screening rates for breast or cervical cancer, for example, colorectal cancer screening rates remain low, says the CDC. Recent surveillance data reveal that only 44 percent of U.S. adults age 50 or older had been screened using at least one of three recommended methods -- fecal occult blood testing, colonoscopy or flexible sigmoid- oscopy. These statistics are especially hard to fathom given the fact that Medicare covers the cost of these screening tests, as well as that of a fourth option, double-contrast barium enema.

In response to this lackluster showing, HHS recently established a joint task force with the American Cancer Society to coordinate efforts to increase public awareness of colorectal cancer. In addition, HHS has released four new public service announcements as part of its "Screen for Life" campaign. Go to http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/ScreenForLife/ to read more about the campaign, which represents a collaboration of the CDC, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and National Cancer Institute.

There's no shortage of reliable resources on this topic. A visit to NCI's Web site at http://cancer.gov/ plugs you into everything from the latest research news to nationwide clinical trial listings. You can go to http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorctl/calltoaction/ to access patient education materials for use in your office. And, of course, you can always steer patients to AAFP's familydoctor.org site at http://familydoctor.org/handouts/556.html for information about this serious health threat.

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