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Older Blacks Less Likely to Get Cancer Screening

Wed, 07/19/2000 - 12:00am — Karen Stevenson
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A study in the latest issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that poverty, lack of education and a lack of health insurance prevent many elderly black Americans from getting screened for cervical, breast and colon cancer. Dr. Verona Hegarty from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues conducted the research, and concluded that this lack of screening at least partly explains why blacks in the US are more likely to die of cancer than whites.

Previous studies have uncovered racial differences in cancer screening. To investigate why these differences occur, researchers interviewed more than 4,000 elderly Americans in 1986-1987 and followed up with nearly 3,000 people in 1992-1993. The follow-up survey included 1,246 blacks and 966 whites older than 70 years. Investigators asked patients about their use of the Pap smear; clinical breast examination and mammography; and rectal examination and fecal occult blood testing to diagnose colorectal cancer. Researchers concluded that black women were less likely than white women to be screened for cervical and breast cancer, and that elderly blacks were less likely to be screened for colon cancer.

A study in the latest issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that poverty, lack of education and a lack of health insurance prevent many elderly black Americans from getting screened for cervical, breast and colon cancer. Dr. Verona Hegarty from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues conducted the research, and concluded that this lack of screening at least partly explains why blacks in the US are more likely to die of cancer than whites.

Previous studies have uncovered racial differences in cancer screening. To investigate why these differences occur, researchers interviewed more than 4,000 elderly Americans in 1986-1987 and followed up with nearly 3,000 people in 1992-1993. The follow-up survey included 1,246 blacks and 966 whites older than 70 years. Investigators asked patients about their use of the Pap smear; clinical breast examination and mammography; and rectal examination and fecal occult blood testing to diagnose colorectal cancer. Researchers concluded that black women were less likely than white women to be screened for cervical and breast cancer, and that elderly blacks were less likely to be screened for colon cancer.