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Cancer Screenings |
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Cancer Screening New York City
Cancer screening can save lives by preventing disease, catching cancer in its early stages and providing opportunities for treatment. TCNY has set specific screening targets for cervical, breast, and colon cancers.
How are we doing in Northwest Brooklyn?
Women in Northwest Brooklyn are more likely to get timely Pap tests for cervical cancer than women in Brooklyn and NYC overall, but mammogram screening for breast cancer is still below the TCNY target. The percent of Northwest Brooklyn adults aged 50 and older who had a colonoscopy in the past 10 years has more than doubled between 2002 and 2004. Although the size of this increase cannot be precisely estimated because of small sample size, colonoscopy screening has clearly improved in this community but remains well below the TCNY target.
The death rate due to cancer has remained fairly steady in Northwest Brooklyn during the past decade. The 2003-2004 average annual cancer death rate was more than 15% higher than both the Brooklyn and NYC overall rates (188/100,000 vs. 160/100,000 in
Brooklyn and 161/100,000 in NYC).
 Preventing cancer and cancer-related deaths.
Individuals can reduce their risk of the most common cancers. Never smoking or quitting the habit today greatly reduces the risk of lung and other cancers. High colon and breast cancer death rates highlight the importance of getting recommended screenings, so treatment can begin early.
For more information find a doctor or oncologist. |
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