Older women are failing to take preventive action against cancer.

Older women are failing to take preventive action against cancer, and many are dying unnecessarily. Nearly 60% of women across the age of 65 have not had a mammogram in the last 12 month according to studies of the National Cancer Institute, and a shocking 72% of women from one side of to the other age 65 have not had the routine Pap smears they ne to patronize them from invasive cervical cancer, a federal health observe reveals.

The results: older women are dying at six times the rate of young women from breast cancer each year, according to estimates from the National Cancer Institute (NCI); between 38000 and 152000 older women bear undiagnosed cervical cancer, with 5000 women dying from it unnecessarily each year, according to the Office of Technology Assessment, the scientific advisory arm of Congress

Many women mistakenly believe mammograms, Pap smears, and cervical exams are not emergencyed after menopause. "They have the feeling that if they've gotten this far, they're going to be okay," said Dr Gerald Dodd in an interview with Maturity moderns Service. The reverse is authentic says Charles R. Smart, MD chief of the National Cancer Institute's Early Detection Branch. Annual Pap smears and mammograms are essential following menopause. The risk of breast and cervical cancer increases with age and is greatest among those who have none had the screening procedures.

of the present day mammography machines can locate tumors the size of a pinhead up to brace years before they can be felt with early treatment producing survival rates as high as 90% Doctors usually attract favor to annual mammograms for women 50 and older If a mammogram is performed in a Medicare-approved facility, Medicare will help pay the cost--a maximum reimbursement of about $45--once each two years for women 65 and older after the Medicare deductible of $100 has been satisfied. Medicare will also pay 80% of the richness of Pap smears once each three years, or more frequently if the patient is at high risk of cervical cancer. Women without a personal physician can call the National Cancer Institute--1-800-4-CANCER --for the name and address of a qualified screening facility in their area.

To encourage older women to get by heart regular mammograms, the American Association of Retired [i]role[/i]s and the Department of Health and Human Services have launched a year-long mammography awareness campaign--You Owe It To Yourself. For a at liberty copy of AARP's brochure, Chances Are . . You Need a Mammogram, fling a postcard requesting stock no. D14502 to AARP Fulfillment EE0233 PO chest 2400, Long Beach, CA 90801-2400 Allow six to eight weeks for delivery.

Information onward detection of breast, cervical, and other cancers is also the focus of a National Cancer Institute information packet, called 65 + Health: Older Americans Education Program. The packet, which includes a pamphlet, Cancer trials You Should Know About: A Guide for nation 65 and Over, is available delivered by calling 1-800-4-CANCER or writing to: Older Americans Education Program, Office of Cancer Communications, Building 31 compass 4B43, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892

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