Study: Late Stage Cervical Diagnosis Linked to Lack of Insurance - East Idaho News
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Study: Late Stage Cervical Diagnosis Linked to Lack of Insurance

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Getty H 111810 GenericHealthcarePicture2?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1342837556758Siri Stafford/Photodisc/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — This year, more than 12,000 women in the U.S. will be told they have cervical cancer. Over 4,000 of them will die.    
 
Diagnosing cervical cancer in the early stages means a better chance of conquering the disease. Receiving a diagnosis at the later third or fourth stage may mean more aggressive and expensive therapies, and an increased risk of death.
 
A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health took a closer look at how insurance coverage affected 69,000 American women with cervical cancer.
 
Researchers at the American Cancer Society found that 24 percent of privately insured women were diagnosed with stage three or four advanced disease, compared to over 34 percent of those with Medicaid, and just over 35 percent of those without insurance.
 
The study concludes that uninsured women are at higher risk of being diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer because they lack access to screening. Researchers suggest that all women who need it should have access to affordable screenings.
 
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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