A report that was published on the 25th of October in an online journal, Cancer, has stated that the rate of screening for colorectal cancer among minority women can increase, if they are offered a screening, when they are undergoing mammography.

Talking about the prevalence of colorectal cancer screening (CRCS), MD, Department of Medicine at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Moshe Shike stated that the screening for colorectal cancer was inadequate among women in minority communities. He stated that the prevalence was even lesser among women who lacked insurance.

In the survey, 2,616 women coming in for mammography at the Breast Examination Center of Harlem were offered CRCS. However, out of the 2,616 women, 2,005 women declined to undergo the screening, whereas 611 women agreed to get themselves enrolled for the screening.

It was found in the study that the most major obstacle was that women declined to get their screening done was, as they lacked health insurance cover. However, these women readily participated after they were offered monetary help for the screening.

The authors of the study concluded that offering CRCS to women coming in for mammography and offering it without a doctor’s referral had a significant increase in the number of women interested in undergoing the test.