May 26, 2006
Kansas Receives Excellent Grade for Prostate Cancer
Awareness of Prostate Cancer targeted during June
Men in Kansas are receiving prostate cancer screening on a regular basis, which has contributed to early detection of the disease and lower incidence and deaths. This has resulted in Kansas receiving one of the best grades, an “A,” in the Prostate Cancer “Report Card” issued by the National Prostate Cancer Coalition (NPCC).
“This Prostate Cancer Report Card is excellent news for the State of Kansas,” said Governor Kathleen Sebelius.
“It positively reflects on the strides made to provide quality health care for all residents,” said Roderick Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). “Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and all are at risk for the disease. Although the cancer is slow growing, early detection and screening can determine what type of medical intervention is necessary.”
June is national Men’s Health Awareness Month and screening for prostate cancer is one of the important medical tests men can have to improve and monitor their health.
One of the reasons Kansas received a superior grade is because the state has required that insurance companies cover prostate screening exams since 1998, one of 28 states with such a law on the books.
Governor Sebelius said, “This law was put into place when I was insurance commissioner and the effort has certainly been successful. We’ll continue looking for ways to encourage Kansans to be active in regular health screenings.”
These laws help improve screening rates and early detection of prostate cancer. States also were rated on screening and mortality rates calculated from raw data made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In men over the age of 40 in Kansas, almost 70 percent received a digital rectal exam and 60 percent received a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test to test for cancer, according to the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System conducted by KDHE. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that a man talk to his physician regarding his risk of prostate cancer and the advisability of testing for this cancer. Usually testing is most useful for men over 50 years of age and younger men with an increased risk of prostate cancer due to family history.
African American men are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer at an advanced state than white men.
“We will continue our efforts to ensure all Kansas men are taking advantage of prostate cancer screening, especially African American men, who all too often wait too long to seek screening, and therefore, reduce their chances of recovery and survival,” said Sharon Goolsby, R.N., Program Manager of KDHE’s Office of Minority Health. “We encourage men to talk with their family physicians and get screened early for prostate cancer to increase their chances for a long healthy life.”
According to the Kansas Cancer Registry there were 1,869 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in Kansas and 262 men died of the disease during 2003.
Nationally approximately 232,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005. In Kansas between 1997 and 2001, 9,500 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer.
