The Right To Know Campaign Breast Cancer Screening

It's Your Life. No one can protect it better than you. Judy, Breast Cancer Survivor

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. And living with a disability does not make you immune. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, learn the facts about breast cancer and why screening should be a regular part of your health care.

In the United States in 2010, the percentage of women with a disability aged 50-74 that received a mammogram during the past 2 years was lower than the percentage of women without disabilities of the same ages that received a mammogram during the past 2 years (61% vs. 75%).1

Studies also show higher rates of death related to breast cancer among women with a disability, even when diagnosed at the same stage as women without a disability.2 Having regular mammograms can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer.

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References

  1. Data File Documentation, National Health Interview Survey, 2010 (machine readable data file and documentation). National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Maryland. 2010. Disclaimer: The NHIS analyses in this report are those of the authors and not NCHS, which is responsible only for the initial data.
  2. McCarthy EP, Ngo LH, Roetzheim RG, et al.Disparities in breast cancer treatment and survival for women with disabilities.external icon Annals of Internal Medicine 2006; 145:637–645.