Colon cancer screening among older women caregivers

Colorectal cancers are common causes of morbidity and mortality among women in the United States. Many of these deaths are unnecessary because of the availability of effective early detection methods. The demands of caregivin g may limit older women's participation in screening. The purposes of this exploratory study were to describe the participation in colorectal cancer s creening of older women (n = 52; mean age 65 years) who were the primary ca regivers for an ill spouse or parent, and to investigate the relationship o f the caregiving burden and perceptions of health to participation in recom mended colorectal cancer screening tests. Results. Only 36% of the older wo men (n = 16) had been screened with both fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) and sigmoidoscopy. A number of women had never participated in colorectal c ancer screening: 10 (21%) had never undergone FOBT and 22 (47%) had never u ndergone sigmoidoscopy. Only 20% (n = 9) had received all of the recommende d cancer screening tests: mammogram, Papanicalaou smear, FOBT, and sigmoido scopy. Those who did not participate in cancer screening with sigmoidoscopy had significantly worse health perceptions than those who did participate. Caregiver burden was not significantly associated with differences in canc er screening participation. Only 14 of these older women felt that they wou ld have a good chance of survival if they received a diagnosis of colon can cer. Further research is needed to investigate strategies to increase parti cipation of older women in colon cancer screening.