Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs among Older Korean American Women

It is generally known that early detection through screening can improve the survival rate and quality of life of individuals with breast cancer (American Cancer Society, 2007), and this is the main reason the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2002) recommends annual mammography screening for women age 40 and older. However, Asian American women, including Korean American women, have the lowest cancer screening rates of all ethnic groups (Kagawa-Singer & Pourat, 2000; Wu, Guthrie, & Bancroft, 2005). The screening rates vary from study to study, but 48% to 78% of Korean American women had ever had a mammogram, and 15% to 50% were estimated to have had a mammogram in the preceding year (Han, Williams, & Harrison, 2000; Juon, Choi, & Kim, 2000; Juon, Kim, Shankar, & Han, 2004; Kim & Sarna, 2004; Kim, Jeong, & Kim, 2004; Lee, Fogg, & Sadler, 2006; Maxwell, Bastani, & Warda, 2000; Sarna, Tae, Kim, Brecht, & Maxwell, 2001; Wismer et al., 1998). The mammography screening rates are even lower among Korean American women age 65 and older: 12% to 69% had ever had a mammogram, and 7% to 35% were estimated to have had a mammogram in the preceding year (Juon et al., 2004; Juon, Seo, & Kim, 2002; Lee et al., 2006). Although specific breast cancer incidence rates among Korean American women by age group are not available, older Korean American women are believed to be at higher risk for breast cancer than younger Korean American women because in American women in general, the incidence of breast cancer increases with age (American Cancer Society, 2007). According to the National Institutes of Health (2008), in the United States, 1 in 28 women age 60 to 70 and 1 in 24 women age 70 to 80 develops breast cancer, whereas only 1 in 257 women younger than age 40 develops breast cancer. One study estimated that by 2030, two thirds of patients with breast cancer will be older than age 65 (Stewart & Foster, 1989). Therefore, increasing breast cancer incidence rates among older women in the United States and older Korean American women’s low screening rates will most likely put older Korean American women at risk for breast cancer.