Since the beginning of 2022, participation rates in screening programs for various cancers have been in free fall in the Lot-et-Garonne department. An awareness program has just been launched by the CRCDC-NA to counter this phenomenon.
Nearly 2,200 fewer mammograms performed compared to 2021, a drop of 3,500 colorectal cancer screening tests compared to the same period in 2021. The figures are overwhelming. Since 2019, a benchmark year, participation in cancer screening programs has plummeted in Lot-et-Garonne. Something to worry the health authorities of the department. To counter this phenomenon, the Regional Cancer Screening Coordination Center of New Aquitaine (CRCDC-NA) is launching an awareness program to improve prevention actions throughout the territory. “We want to remobilize the Lot-et-Garonnais to get tested. Detected early, colorectal cancer is cured in 9 out of 10 cases and breast cancer has a 5-year survival rate of 99%. It is therefore essential to get tested, ”explains Emeline Lavialle, public health officer.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in France.
Obscure reasons
Even if the results for the year 2021 were encouraging in the Lot-et-Garonne department, it is not the same story in 2022 with regard to the figures from the start of the year. And according to Emeline Lavialle the reasons for the desertion of screening centers are quite obscure: “We have a few hypotheses concerning breast cancer screening. On December 31, the Carco radiology practice in Agen closed for good. Perhaps the ladies who were used to it decided not to be followed following the center closed. The weariness or loss of “medical habits” linked to the Covid-19 pandemic is also one of the avenues considered by the public health officer. Indeed, since the first confinement, the CRCDC-NA has stopped sending “invitations” to screening (together with the cessation of the awareness program put in place every two years), which has, in fact, led to a fall participations. At the end of two years, the program will be relaunched for the summer season and will once once more raise awareness among target audiences, namely people aged 50 to 74 for breast cancer and colorectal cancer and 25 to 65 for breast cancer. cervix.
How to get tested?
So if you are part of the target audience and have received an invitation to participate in breast cancer or colorectal cancer screening, there is still time to get screened. To carry out the mammography, all you have to do is go to one of the radiology offices open all summer (1 office in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, 2 offices in Marmande and 2 offices in Agen). As for the colorectal cancer screening test, in addition to the delivery by your doctor, if you have received an invitation, it is now possible to order it online via a QR code. “Let’s not let up on our efforts, let’s continue to save lives,” says Emeline Lavialle.
organized colorectal cancer screening journey infographic
organized breast cancer screening journey infographic
