Screen This Too: Two Cancer Screenings You Should Never Skip
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, helping raise awareness about early screening for a cancer that affects millions of people world-wide, every year. Breast cancer is similar to colon cancer in the sense that if caught early enough, it can be very treatable. Regular screening and early detection are imperative to long-term outcomes and patient survival rates in both cancers. With the pandemic causing thousands of people to push off their preventative screenings for a year or more – for both cancers – closing this gap throughout 2021 has been our top priority.
In this article we’ll outline some important statistics and updates around both breast cancer and colon cancer, so you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to raise awareness and fight back against these illnesses.
Breast Cancer and Mammograms
A 2021 study confirmed that mammograms have a direct correlation to breast cancer survival rates. Researchers said women who skip even one scheduled mammography screening before a breast cancer diagnosis face a significantly higher risk of dying from the cancer.
Breast cancer screening with mammography has helped to substantially reduce breast cancer deaths over the past decade by enabling detection of cancer at earlier, more treatable stages. Despite mammography’s well-established effectiveness, many women don’t participate in recommended screening examinations, and pandemic-related barriers to screening have exacerbated this reluctance. According to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, an estimated 35% of Americans missed routine cancer screening due to COVID-19-related fears and service disruptions early in the pandemic.
The message that women should take from this analysis is clear: regular screening tests can save your life. (Source: American Cancer Society – cancer.org)
Breast Cancer Facts:
1 in 8 U.S. women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the US, and 1 in 3 of those cases will become metastatic.
For women at average risk of breast cancer, the American Cancer Society recommends that those 40 to 44 years of age have the option to begin annual mammography; those 45 to 54 undergo annual mammography; and those 55 years of age and older transition to biennial mammography or continue annual mammography.
For some women at high risk of breast cancer, annual breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is recommended to accompany mammography, typically starting at age 30.
African American Women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than Caucasian women.
Male breast cancer is rare. Less than one percent of all breast cancer cases develop in men, and only one in a thousand men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and only about 2% will metastasize.
The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are sex (being a woman) and age (growing older).
A woman’s risk of breast cancer nearly doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen because of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations. Less than 15% of women who get breast cancer have a family member diagnosed with it.
2021 Statistics:
In 2021, an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 49,290 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
About 2,650 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in 2021.
About 43,600 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2021 from breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2021, it's estimated that about 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers.
Breast cancer became the most common cancer globally as of 2021, accounting for 12% of all new annual cancer cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
(Sources: cancer.org; metavivor.org; breastcancer.org)
Colon Cancer and Colonoscopies
Since 2018, the American Cancer Society has pushed for the recommended age for routine colonoscopies to be lowered from 50 to 45. This year, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force accepted that recommendation due to the alarming rate of colon cancer occurrences in younger people over the past decade, particularly in African Americans. (A popular example being the death of actor, Chadwick Boseman, who died at 43 from the illness.)
Preventative colonoscopies are a unique procedure, as they can prevent up to 90% of colon cancer cases from even occurring by removing pre-cancerous polyps. Lowering the recommended age is a huge win for the fight against colon cancer, as now insurers will be required to cover this preventative procedure which was a barrier to many younger patients before.
Colon Cancer Facts:
Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the 3rd most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the U.S.
1 in 3 Americans ages 50-75 are not up to date with their colorectal screening requirements. (Approximately 23 million people.)
1 in 10 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer in their lifetime.
A polyp can take up to 10 years to become colorectal cancer. A preventative colonoscopy that removes these polyps can prevent up to 90% of colon cancer cases from ever occurring.
Colon cancer does not discriminate between sexes. Men have a 1 in 23 chance of developing colorectal cancer; women have a 1 in 25 chance.
African Americans are 20% more likely to have colon cancer, compared to other ethnic groups.
Early screenings have reduced colon cancer deaths by 70% since 1970.
2020 & 2021 Statistics:
An estimated 1,700,000 colonoscopies in the U.S. were missed during 2020 due to the pandemic.
Nearly 150,000 new cases of colon and rectal cancers will be diagnosed in 2021.
Approximately 52,980 patients will die due to colorectal cancer in 2021.
(Sources: cancer.org; dana-farber.org)
When it comes to breast and colon cancer – Prevention really is the best medicine. This October, schedule screenings for both your top and bottom halves, and encourage the same for those you love!