Many aspinwall cancer patients aren't getting the screenings recommended subsequently surgery to make sure the disease hasn't returned, new research shows.
About 149,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with colorectal genus Cancer this twelvemonth. Survival after five age varies from 90 pct for cancer that hasn't spread to 10 pct for advanced cases.
Cooper and his colleagues used a federal database of cancer cases and Medicare records for patients to see if the guidelines were being followed. They focused on those 66 and older with less advanced cancer world Health Organization had surgical procedure that could cure them.
Patients were tracked for three years, commencement six months after surgical process. When the study began in 2000, the minimum guidelines called for at least two doctor visits a year, twice annual blood tests for iI years and a colonoscopy within trinity years. Cooper said a colonoscopy is now recommended in the first year.
Overall, 60 per centum of the patients didn't meet the guidelines. Of those wHO did, more than half actually got advanced medical scans like CT scans and PET scans that are not recommended for routine screening. The scans could have been through with because of signs or symptoms of a return but the researchers aforementioned they distrust they were done for routine follow-up.
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