Upstate New Yorkers Risking Their Lives by Not Being Screened for Colon Cancer
BUFFALO, NY, March 14, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Tens of thousands of adults in upstate New York are gambling with their health by choosing not to be screened for colon cancer, according to research findings issued today by Univera Healthcare. Among those adults who are not screened, only one in four report that a doctor or health professional has recommended that they be tested for colon cancer. Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among adults in the United States.
“About 2,300 people are diagnosed with colon cancer each year in upstate New York,” said Richard Vienne, D.O., Univera Healthcare vice president and chief medical officer. “The upstate region sees about 800 deaths a year from the disease.”
"Colon cancer awareness needs to be much broader than just among physicians if we are going to be successful in increasing the number of people being checked for the disease."
Richard Vienne, D.O., Univera Healthcare vice president and chief medical officer
Regular screenings can detect early-stage colon cancer before symptoms develop. Early detection is important because treatments are more likely to be successful for early- rather than late-stage cancer.
“A recommendation from a physician is a powerful motivator in a patient’s decision to be screened for cancer,” said Vienne. “However, colon cancer awareness needs to be much broader than just among physicians if we are going to be successful in increasing the number of people being checked for the disease.”
Colonoscopy is the most thorough screening test and is proven to prevent the disease. Removing benign or pre-cancerous polyps during colonoscopy can not only prevent colon cancer, but also reduce deaths from the disease for years, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Colon cancer screening is recommended every ten years for all adults ages 50 to 75. Individuals who have colon cancer risk factors, including a family history of colon cancer, or previous polyps, may need to have their first screening at a younger age, and/or more frequently.
Univera Healthcare pledged its support for the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable’s “80% by 2018” goal of having 80 percent of adults aged 50 and older screened for colorectal cancer by 2018. Currently, about one-third of upstate New York adults in the 50- to 75-year-old age range have not been screened.
The NCCRT was founded in 1997 by the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If achieved, the screening goal of “80% by 2018” would prevent 277,000 cases of colorectal cancer, and 203,000 associated deaths by 2030.
“Colon cancer screening is covered in full as an ‘essential benefit’ of all health insurance, so there’s really no excuse for not getting screened, and it can save your life!” said Vienne.
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Univera Healthcare is a nonprofit health plan that is part of a family of companies financing and delivering health services for about 1.5 million upstate New Yorkers. Based in Buffalo, the health plan serves members across the eight counties that comprise Western New York.
Source: Univera Healthcare