A recent Center for Disease Control report found 58.6 percent of Americans reported being up-to-date on colorectal cancer screening — a rate significantly lower than the Healthy People 2020 target of 70.5 percent.
Healthy People is a government program that sets benchmarks for healthcare. Healthy People 2020 was launched at the end of 2010 and aims to raise the colorectal cancer screening rate to 70.5 percent of Americans, among other health-related goals. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends men and women start colorectal cancer screening at age 50 and continue until age 75. Acceptable tests include annual high-sensitivity fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy every five years combined with high-sensitivity fecal occult blood testing every three years and screening colonoscopy every 10 years.
Men and women reported similar rates of screening with 58.5 percent of men saying they were up-to-date and 58.8 percent of women reporting the same. The report found whites were more likely to report being up-to-date than blacks or Asians. Despite the rate being lower than the 2020 target, there has been a nearly 20 percent increase in people being up-to-date on colorectal cancer screening since 2000.
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Healthy People is a government program that sets benchmarks for healthcare. Healthy People 2020 was launched at the end of 2010 and aims to raise the colorectal cancer screening rate to 70.5 percent of Americans, among other health-related goals. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends men and women start colorectal cancer screening at age 50 and continue until age 75. Acceptable tests include annual high-sensitivity fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy every five years combined with high-sensitivity fecal occult blood testing every three years and screening colonoscopy every 10 years.
Men and women reported similar rates of screening with 58.5 percent of men saying they were up-to-date and 58.8 percent of women reporting the same. The report found whites were more likely to report being up-to-date than blacks or Asians. Despite the rate being lower than the 2020 target, there has been a nearly 20 percent increase in people being up-to-date on colorectal cancer screening since 2000.
Related Articles on Colorectal Cancer:
Study: Cocoa Could Prevent Colon Cancer
Study: Colon Cancer Patients First Presenting in Emergency Departments Still Viable for Surgery, Other Curative Treatment Options
Study: Colonoscopy Reporting in Clinical Practice High but Varied