March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is committed to boosting public awareness about the importance of screening and treatment for colorectal cancer.
Colorectal cancer poses the greatest risk to adults over age 50, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that all individuals aged 50 to 75 be screened for colorectal cancer as part of routine preventive health care. Currently, about 1 in 3 adults between the ages of 50 and 75 are not receiving recommended screening. These are most likely to be Hispanics, those aged 50 to 64, men, American Indian or Alaska natives, those who don’t live in a city, and people with lower education and income.
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, a major barrier to regular screening—cost of access to preventive care—has been removed. For the first time in our nation’s history, many Americans can receive without cost sharing high value preventive services, such as screening for colorectal cancer and other diseases that threaten health and shorten lives.
Colorectal cancer screening has been proven to save lives. We are committed to eliminating colorectal cancer as a major public health problem. Increasing the nation’s screening rate to 80% by the year 2018 is absolutely possible, but there is much work to be done. We need greater national efforts to inform and remind appropriate patients that they are due for colorectal cancer screening, and ensure that all Americans between the ages of 50 and 75 receive this important life-saving intervention. ■
