New state poll: Risky delays in cancer testing reported among adults ...

MOBILE, Alabama ? Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cancer killer in Alabama, but only 38 percent of older respondents to a new statewide poll said that they had been given a stool test in the last year or had a colonoscopy in the past 10 years.

It was one of an array of questions in polling commissioned by the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and the state Department of Public Health that sought to learn people?s cancer fears and to identify obstacles to early-detection testing and treatment.

The polling particularly focused on deadly colorectal cancer, which often goes undetected because of social stigmas.

Up to 90 percent of colon cancer cases can be treated successfully if caught in the early stages, according to health data. But in Alabama, up to 40 percent of cases are diagnosed in later stages, leading to about 1,000 deaths a year.

The telephone poll of 1,024 adult respondents in Alabama was conducted March 24 through May 10, in hopes that publicity about the findings will help improve screening rates and save lives.

Among the key findings:

• 38 percent of respondents said there?s not much you can do to avoid cancer.
• Less than half correctly identified eating grilled and processed meats, drinking alcohol, being overweight and lack of exercise as cancer risk factors.
• Only 40 percent consider themselves well informed about screenings.
• The greatest obstacles to screening are cost, lack of information and lack of insurance.
• The Internet is the No. 1 source of health-related information for half of respondents, and two-thirds of respondents said they have Internet access.
• 64 percent are overweight, based on answers about physical characteristics.

?Having a physician recommendation and patient knowledge are the two most important factors in getting screened for colorectal cancer,? said Keith Nicholls, an associate investigator with the Mitchell Cancer Institute and director of the USA Polling Group that conducted the survey.

In the survey, respondents were asked about their health, their fear of cancer, knowledge of cancer risk factors, obstacles to getting needed screenings and sources for healthcare information, Nicholls said. Those questions were followed by others for ages 50 and older that dealt with specific issues about colon cancer screenings, including knowledge of colon cancer risk factors, screening options, screening experiences and screening obstacles and intentions.

?Since some people are not going to get a colonoscopy, we need a viable alternative,? Nicholls said.

That alternative, public health officials said, is known as a FIT (fecal immunochemical test) ? basically, a stool sample ? that a person can collect at home and mail back to their physician. Unlike older take-home tests, it does not require patients to change their diet or avoid medicine and vitamins.

State health officials said they are working to educate more Alabama doctors and patients about the newer test that screens for colorectal cancer.?

Article source: http://blog.al.com/live/2012/08/new_state_poll_risky_delays_in.html

Source: http://cancerkick.com/2012/08/06/new-state-poll-risky-delays-in-cancer-testing-reported-among-adults/

shepard fairey is snooki pregnant snooki pregnant gbc hedy lamarr jack white kowloon walled city