Eighteen million women are behind on cancer screenings

Nearly 18 million middle-aged women in the United States are overdue for one or more cancer screening tests (breast, cervical or colorectal.) Research published in JAMA notes that cancer is the second-most common cause of death for women and the most common among women between the ages of 45 and 64. More than 42% of those 17.9 million women are overdue for multiple tests. “Engaging this large and heterogeneous population fully in cancer screening may require multiple strategies addressing care access and missed opportunities in a primary care setting.”