We’ve come a long way in being able to screen for a variety of cancers and less far in curing people with mid- to late-stage cancer. We still need to make sure everyone takes advantage of these cancer screenings; they are important for ensuring survival from cancer. Fortunately, people with Medicare can get several cancer screenings at no cost.
Many people with Medicare don’t yet benefit from these free cancer screenings. One recent study found that only about 50-60 percent of people with Medicare get breast and colorectal cancer screenings as recommended.
The cost of screening Americans for five different types of cancer is now $43 billion a year, according to a new estimate published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, reports Gina Kolata for The New York Times. The researchers estimated the cost of breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer screenings.
Of the $43 billion spent each year on cancer, more than $22 billion is to cover the cost of colonoscopies. But, colonoscopies can both detect and prevent cancer. Physicians can remove growths on the colon that can become cancer over time.
How beneficial are screenings? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent entity that grades the value of screenings, recommends lung, breast, cervical and colorectal screenings as a way to reduce the likelihood of death. It does not take a position on the value of prostate screenings.
Cancer death rates have dropped significantly in the last 40 or so years, some say because many people have stopped smoking, improved their diets and otherwise take better care of themselves than in the past. The death rate from colon cancer has dropped by half. Today, about half of all eligible individuals are screened for colon cancer.
One clinical trial found that screening possibly reduced the likelihood of death from colorectal cancer by one third over 30 years. That sounds like a lot, and I don’t want to minimize it. Yet, it’s important to note that the overall risk fell to two percent from three percent.
Here’s more from Just Care: