The chances of surviving cancer are greatly improved when it’s discovered early, yet a new study shows a decrease in the number of adults in the U.S. getting routine cancer screenings.
According to the , 51% of adults 21 and older say they had a routine medical appointment or routine cancer screening in the past year. The five-year survival rate for many types of cancer is almost 90% when found early.
“It’s a 10 percentage point decrease from our survey last year, so there’s been a decline in the number of people getting their routine medical appointments and screenings,” said Jody Hoyos, CEO of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, based in Alexandria, Virginia.
The top reasons cited by participants for not getting screened are not knowing they need to be screened (43%), not having signs or symptoms (40%) and not having a family history (40%).
“What you’ll hear people say is, ‘I feel fine, I don’t really need to go and get a screening, I feel great,'” said Hoyos. “That is exactly when you should be getting a routine screening.”
Many people diagnosed with advanced cancer experience no symptoms. “The signs and symptoms often appear in later stages for cancer,” Hoyos said.
Others put off regular screenings because nobody else in their family had cancer.
“Family history is important, but the vast majority of cancer cases are diagnosed in people with no family history,” said Hoyos.
One in seven in the survey said they are behind in their screenings because they’re skeptical of the health care system 鈥� a 38% increase compared to 2024.
The survey found when people learn about the benefits of early detection, 73% are more likely to schedule routine cancer screenings.
The highest screening rates were for mammograms, with 65% of women 40 years and older reporting they are up to date on routine breast cancer screening.
Other cancer types have far fewer reports of routine screenings: Only 32% of men report being up to date on testicular cancer checks and 36% of adults report being current on their skin cancer checks.
The study of 7,000 U.S. adults was conducted between Jan. 22 and Feb. 10. The margin of error of the overall sample is +/- 1 percentage point with a confidence level of 95%.
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