Differences in stage at diagnosis are important. As physicians, we know that death from cancer is not certain and that the difference between life and death is often determined by the stage of diagnosis. Stage at diagnosis is, in turn, often influenced by how the cancer was detected. In general, cancers detected by routine screenings are more likely to be cured than those diagnosed after symptoms develop. For purposes of impacting the gap in cancer mortality, it is obvious that the first place to implement changes is at the level of the gap in early detection.
Early detection means screening.
The medical literature contains no definitive answer to this question. However several facts do serve to illuminate the issue. First of all, African-Americans are screened by mammography in Florida less often than similar aged white Floridians. The reasons for the lower rate of screening mammography are not clear, but it is reasonable to suspect that lower rates of mammography are paralleled by lower rates of other screening activities. In fact, there is some evidence to support this.