New research from the Cleveland Clinic shows disparities in preventative health care screenings in the Hispanic population. Specifically, new data shows colorectal cancer screenings are far fewer than in other ethnic groups.
Dr. Ashwani Sethi, a gastroenterologist at Lee Health, believes colorectal cancer is the only preventable cancer. He said colonoscopies are the gold standard as far as screenings go.
“I think one of the major pitfalls,” Dr. Sethi said, “is that people don’t like the prep. The prep is really what puts people off because you have to go 10-15 times to the bathroom. You got to clean out your colon.”
It may not be fun but it’s the tradeoff you make to avoid the third most common cancer. Dr. Sethi said in a colonoscopy, he can identify and remove polyps. He refers to polyps as ‘silent killers’ because, “you have no symptoms when you have polyps. When polyps are present, they grow and over time develop into cancer.”
So, why are we seeing a lower rate of screenings in the Hispanic population? The Cleveland Clinic said more research needs to be completed to know for sure. Research shows roughly 62% of Hispanic adults had colorectal screening done in 2022. 75% of white and black adults were screened that same year.
Without screening, people are often diagnosed later and found to have more advanced stages of cancer leading to poorer treatment outcomes. Dr. Sethi provided a list of possible explanations as to why the Hispanic population may not come in for these procedures.
“They are less prone to go to doctors because of cultural things,” he said, “they don’t want to go to doctors if they don’t have problems.”
He said fear of complications or ignorance of how common colorectal cancer is also may play a role. As far as complications, Sethi said roughly 1/1000 patients bleed or have a perforation.
“The cost is always an issue in healthcare in the United States,” Sethi added. “But, usually screening, pure screening, is covered by most insurances. The Affordable Care Act says that if you're screening, it should be a no deductible. If you have no insurance, I believe that Lee Health does offer financial assistance and help in getting them a screening test.”
You can read the Cleveland Clinic research here or checkout their interactive map to show populations with the highest disparity rates.
Learn more about digestive care from Lee Health's gastrointestinal (GI) specialists .