Cancer Screenings - Ages 65-75

Cancer Screenings - Ages 65-75 in Alabama

Alabama

Cancer screenings can help detect cancer early when treatment is easiest and most effective. Mammography and colorectal cancer screenings have saved many lives and are important methods for preventing breast and colorectal cancer deaths. Of all age groups, mammography prevented the most cancer deaths among women ages 60-69. Colorectal screening is a cost-effective method for reducing colorectal cancer cases and deaths.

Despite their effectiveness in preventing cancers, mammography and colorectal cancer screening rates remain below national targets and screening rates declined sharply during the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Barriers to receiving cancer screenings include lack of insurance and lack of a usual source of care.

The prevalence of receiving the recommended number of breast and colorectal cancer screenings is higher among:

• Older men compared with older women. 
• White and Black older adults compared with Hispanic older adults.
• College graduates compared with those with lower levels of education; the prevalence rises with each increase in education level.
• Older adults with an annual household income of $75,000 or more compared with those with lower incomes.
• Older adults living in metropolitan areas compared with those in non-metropolitan areas.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends women ages 50-74 receive a breast cancer screening mammogram every two years. Current evidence is insufficient to assess if the benefits of mammography outweigh the harms for women ages 75 and older. Routine colorectal cancer screening is also recommended for all adults ages 50-75; for adults older than 75, it is an individual choice to be discussed with a doctor. The Community Guide assesses evidence-based community-level interventions to increase cancer screening. The Return-to-Screening Quality Improvement Project and Clinical Study has demonstrated significant increases in cancer screening volume at hospitals recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthy People 2030 has several objectives regarding cancer screenings, including increasing the proportion of women screened for breast cancer and increasing the proportion of adults screened for colorectal cancer.

“Cancer Facts & Figures 2021.” 2021. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2021/cancer-facts-and-figures-2021.pdf.

Chen, Ronald C., Kevin Haynes, Simo Du, John Barron, and Aaron J. Katz. 2021. “Association of Cancer Screening Deficit in the United States With the COVID-19 Pandemic.” JAMA Oncology 7 (6): 878. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.0884.

Hall, Ingrid J., Florence K.L. Tangka, Susan A. Sabatino, Trevor D. Thompson, Barry I. Graubard, and Nancy Breen. 2018. “Patterns and Trends in Cancer Screening in the United States.” Preventing Chronic Disease 15 (July): 170465. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd15.170465.

Joung, Rachel Hae-Soo, Timothy W. Mullett, Scott H. Kurtzman, Sarah Shafir, James B. Harris, Katharine A. Yao, Karl Y. Bilimoria, et al. 2022. “Evaluation of a National Quality Improvement Collaborative for Improving Cancer Screening.” JAMA Network Open 5 (11): e2242354. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.42354.

Ran, Tao, Chih-Yuan Cheng, Benjamin Misselwitz, Hermann Brenner, Jasper Ubels, and Michael Schlander. 2019. “Cost-Effectiveness of Colorectal Cancer Screening Strategies—A Systematic Review.” Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 17 (10): 1969-1981.e15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2019.01.014.

Sabatino, Susan A., Trevor D. Thompson, Mary C. White, Jean A. Shapiro, Janet de Moor, Paul Doria-Rose, Tainya Clarke, and Lisa C. Richardson. 2021. “Cancer Screening Test Receipt — United States, 2018.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 70 (2): 29–35. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7002a1.