It takes a community to address cancer disparities among underserved minority p...(he first-ever assessment of cancer aware...),Health
he first-ever assessment of cancer awareness among members of the Navajo Nation, researchers at the University of Arizona Cancer Center have determined that cancer education efforts have not reached the tribe, particularly with regard to colorectal cancer (CRC).
With funding from the National Cancer Institute, the study leader, Priscilla Sanderson, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Arizona Cancer Center and herself a Navajo, has undertaken an extensive review of attitudes toward cancer among the nearly 200,000 members of the Navajo Nation who live in the Navajo Reservation, an area of land that occupies most of northeastern Arizona as well as parts of New Mexico and Utah.
To establish a baseline of colorectal cancer awareness, Sanderson surveyed Navajo at tribal fairs and health centers and held focus groups of tribal elders. Results of our studies show that awareness and interest in colorectal rectal cancer screening among the Navajo Nation is present, Sanderson said.
However, the proportion of those reporting undergoing CRC screening is much lower than the national average, and that may have a direct effect upon cancer survival.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the United States, with over 150,000 new cases of CRC each year. Since CRC is most common in older adults, doctors generally recommend that every man and woman be regularly screened after age 50. If caught early, CRC has a 50 percent five-year survival rate. According to Sanderson, hard data on CRC incidence among Navajo is not conclusive, but rates are actually thought to be somewhat lower than in other ethnic groups in the United States.
Part of the problem involves public health resources, but there is a definite cultural component that has inadvertently stood in the way of cancer awareness, Sanderson said.
One example given by Sanderson is that many Navajo especially the older members of the tri
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| Contact: Greg Lester greg.lester@aacr.org 267-646-0554 American Association for Cancer Research Source:Eurekalert |
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