New Survey Shows Nearly 50 Percent of Women Over 40 Do Not Receive Recommended Annual Mammogram

New Survey Shows Nearly 50 Percent of Women Over 40 Do Not Receive Recommended Annual Mammogram

Adult women show a strong awareness of the threat of breast cancer, but many still are failing to take the suggested preventative health measures to detect the disease at its earliest stages when it is most treatable. In fact, nearly half (49.6 percent) of women aged 40 and older say they do not receive an annual mammogram as recommended by the American Cancer Society. These were the primary findings of a recent online survey of more than 680 women conducted by Eastman Kodak Company’s Health Group and Zoomerang in December 2006.

A large percentage of women indicate they are aware of the significant threat breast cancer poses and the frequency with which they should receive a mammogram examination, but cite a number of reasons as why they do not. More than 37 percent of women say they do not know how often they should have a mammogram based on their age and risk level. Of those that do know how often they should have a mammogram examination, 32 percent said they do not follow the recommended timeframes. The biggest reasons for not following these recommendations include lack of medical insurance (19 percent), followed by not considering it a high priority (15 percent) and not believing they are at risk (12 percent).

“Regular screening is important, and these data suggest that there is a significant gap between the recognized threat of breast cancer and actually getting annual mammograms,” said Dr. Richard Hirsh, Staff Radiologist at Summa Health System and Assistant Professor of Radiology at North Eastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.

Read the complete Press Release