Guest guest Posted March 7, 2002 Report Share Posted March 7, 2002 > " Along the US-Mexico Border, a Treatable Disease is Still a >Killer " > > >Associated Press (03.02.02)::Lynn Brezosky > For women worldwide, the Pap smear has detected cell >abnormalities that can be treated long before they develop into >cancer. But mortality rates have held frustratingly steady in >some regions plagued by poverty, language barriers and young >motherhood. These rates indicate that women are not getting the >Pap test or are not pursuing follow-up care when tests show >abnormalities. > The 19-county US-Mexico border area known as the Rio Grande >Valley is one of these regions. Other trouble spots include five >counties in Maine; 14 counties in rural Alabama; parts of West >Virginia and California; and concentrations of Native-Americans >in the Southwest and Alaska. Worldwide, almost 360,000 cases of >cervical cancer were detected in 1990, with 190,000 women dying >of the disease. Women in Third World countries have relatively >high incidences of STDs, including the human papilloma virus, a >precursor to cervical cancer. By the time the cancer is caught, >it's often far advanced. > The incidence rate for cervical cancer in the Rio Grande >between 1995 and 1997 was 13.6 per 100,000 women. From 1994 to >1998, that figure was 8.5 per 100,000 women nationwide. Just as >much a factor is failure at continuing care. Even when a Pap >smear comes back abnormal, a woman may forego follow-up. The >results are a regional mortality rate of 3.8 per 100,000, >compared to 2.3 per 100,000 nationwide. " They may be afraid; they >don't want to know they're sick. But the message we have to >convey is: 'Get the Pap,' " said Jane Delgado, president and CEO >of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. > Under the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and >Treatment Act passed by Congress last year, states are eligible >for federal Medicaid matching funds to provide free medical care >to low-income women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer. >Texas plans to take advantage of the initiative. A state law >effective Sept. 1 provides free breast and cervical cancer >treatment to women who have no insurance but whose incomes are >too high for Medicaid. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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