Survey: Americans are better at keeping up with car maintenance than health screenings

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (KXAN) — The Prevent Cancer Foundation’s first annual Early Detection Survey found that Americans are better at making routine car maintenance appointments than they are at routine cancer screenings.

“65 percent of Americans ages 21 and older are out of date with at least one of their routine cancer screenings,” said Jody Hoyos of the Prevent Cancer Foundation. “This is an important issue because routine screenings really give us the ability to prevent or detect cancer in the early stages, when treatment is much more likely to be effective.”

The survey found that the pandemic is no longer the main reason to blame for missed appointments.

“We’ve heard more often that people just didn’t know they needed to be screened. Many others also reported that they didn’t feel they needed to be screened because they had no signs or symptoms,” Hoyos said. “We want people to go to their appointments before they experience any signs or symptoms.”

The survey also found the following:

Nearly half of people surveyed were more vigilant about their health due to the pandemic. One-third (33%) of Americans say potential exposure to COVID-19 continues to negatively impact whether they get to their routine medical appointments.

A higher percentage of Hispanic and Black Americans say they are not involved in routine screenings than white Americans.

61% of white respondents eligible for colorectal cancer screening report being up to date; however, 54% of eligible black participants and only 46% of eligible Hispanic participants say they are up to date on colorectal cancer screening.

63% of white participants in breast cancer screening say they are up to date, but only 46% of Hispanic participants in breast cancer screening say they are up to date.

40% of white participants say they are up to date on skin cancer screening, but 34% of Hispanic participants and only 30% of black participants say they are up to date on skin cancer screening.

Hoyos said The Prevent Cancer Foundation is the only US-based non-profit organization dedicated solely to cancer prevention and early detection.

It also offers an interactive tool to find out when you need to set up a cancer screening here:

“We can provide really easy-to-use information about screenings you need at any age, how to talk to loved ones, family history of cancer and the ability to book appointments, right from our website.”

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