The American Cancer Society observes Cancer Control Month in April. One of the most important factors to the successful treatment of cancer is early detection. Some of the American Cancer Society's guidelines for early detection of cancer for those at average risk of cancer are:

• Periodic cancer related check-ups for people over age 20, which should check for cancers of the thyroid, oral cavity, skin, lymph nodes, testes, and ovaries.
• Yearly clinical breast exams and mammograms for women over age 40.
• Regular screening tests for colorectal cancer.
• Women should begin regular cervical cancer screening either at age 21 or 3 years after they become sexually active.
• Education for women at menopause regarding the risks and symptoms of endometrial cancer, including the importance of reporting any unusual bleeding.
• Annual prostate cancer screening for men beginning at age 50.

Of particular concern in 2008 is recent information that shows that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to develop cancer and die from it than the general US population. Research also shows that the uninsured are more likely not to be treated for cancer until later stages and are more likely to receive substandard care. This inequality of care is the focus of a special section of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2008. The authors conclude that racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive lower quality of care even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are comparable. Examples of this disparity are that cancer death rates for African-American men are 37% higher than for white men and for African-American women are 17% higher than for white women, even though African-American women have lower cancer incidence rates.

The issue of access to health care has become so critical in the fight against cancer that in September the American Cancer Society launched a campaign to highlight the problem. As part of the campaign, four principles were developed that should define healthcare coverage in the US:

Adequate—People must have timely access to the full range of health care, including prevention and early detection.

Affordable—Health care costs should be based on the patient's ability to pay.

Available—People need to have coverage no matter what their health status is or what treatments they've had in the past.

Administratively simple—Health care processes should be easy to understand and navigate.

Len Lichtenfeld, MD, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, stated: "We need to do better. We spend over $2 trillion on health care in this country every year, and yet lives are being lost for the most simple and basic lack of medical care."

Reference: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/SPC/content/SPC_1_Minority_Cancer_Unequal_Burden.asp, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_2_3X_ACS_Cancer_Detection_Guidelines_36.asp?sitearea=PED.

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