NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2007

New Evidence Prevention Is Best Medicine

Report: More Americans Following 5 Basic Steps Would Save Over 100,000 Lives Each Year

By Brian Dakss
  • Play CBS Video Video An Ounce Of Prevention

    A new study says that if Americans concentrated on preventing disease, instead of just treating it, a lot of lives would probably be saved. Dr. Emily Senay breaks down the numbers with Hannah Storm.

  • Dr. Emily Senay, right, and co-anchor Hannah Storm on <i><b>The Early Show Thursday. Photo

    Dr. Emily Senay, right, and co-anchor Hannah Storm on The Early Show Thursday.  (CBS/The Early Show)

  • Interactive Heart Disease In The U.S.

    A look at state-by-state estimates of the prevalence of heart disease.

  • Interactive Cancer

    Learn about the most common cancers, who gets them and how they are treated.

(CBS)  An ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure, but more Americans carrying out five basic preventive measures would save well over 100,000 lives in the United States annually, according to a new report.

It contains numbers to back the main principle of the Partnershp for Prevention, namely, that more emphasis on preventing disease, not just treating it, is needed in the U.S. health care system, and would result in much more efficient use of money spent for it.

To read the report, click here.

On The Early Show Thursday, medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay outlined the report's highlights.

Among them, as described on the group's Web site:

Utilization rates remain low for preventive services that are very cost effective and have been recommended for years. Increasing the use of just five preventive services would save more than 100,000 lives each year in the United States.

  • 45,000 additional lives would be saved each year if we increased to 90 percent the portion of adults who take aspirin daily to prevent heart disease. Today, fewer than half of American adults take aspirin preventively.

  • 42,000 additional lives would be saved each year if we increased to 90 percent the portion of smokers who are advised by a health professional to quit and are offered medication or other assistance. Today, only 28 percent of smokers receive such services.

  • 14,000 additional lives would be saved each year if we increased to 90 percent the portion of adults age 50 and older who are up to date with any recommended screening for colorectal cancer. Today, fewer than 50 percent of adults are up to date with screening.

  • 12,000 additional lives would be saved each year if we increased to 90 percent the portion of adults age 50 and older immunized against flu annually. Today, 37 percent of adults have had an annual flu vaccination.

  • 3,700 additional lives would be saved each year if we increased to 90 percent the portion of women age 40 and older who have been screened for breast cancer in the past 2 years. Today, 67 percent of women have been screened in the past two years.

    Senay points out that taking steps today to prevent medical problems down the line can prove cost-effective as well as life-saving. There are simple, painless things you can take care of in advance that could help prevent disease, lower your risk of serious and costly medical problems, and detect disease and cancer before it's too late. Using preventive care instead of waiting until you have a problem to try to cure it is a much more effective way to handle your personal health.

    Her takes on the five steps the report focuses on:

  • An Aspirin a Day: It's a good idea for most adults to make a daily habit of taking an aspirin, especially those at increased risk for heart disease. Aspirin has been proven to help lower the risk of a cardiovascular event, such as heart attack or stroke, in both people who have had problems in the past and those that haven't. Aspirin is an effective and cheap way to lower your risk.

    "As always," Senay says, "I recommend you check with your individual doctor."

  • Increasing Smoking Cessation Aid and Advice: Quitting smoking is one of the most important things you can do for your health. The negative effects smoking has on your body are extensive. But so are the resources out there to help you quit. This report indicates that 42,000 additional lives could be saved each year if we increased the number of people who are offered advice, medication or other assistance towards quitting smoking.

  • Regular Colon Cancer Screenings: Early detection and treatment of colorectal cancer can save your life. This type of cancer often exhibits no symptoms in the beginning, so screening is the best method to catching it early. Screening can find precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Anyone over the age of 50, or who thinks he or she may be at a higher risk, should talk to his or her doctor about getting regular screenings. Fewer than 50 percent of adults are up-to-date with screening.

  • Flu Vaccinations: People over the age of 50 are at a much higher risk of complications from the flu. Not only do they have to deal with the flu itself, but extreme cases can cause such problems as pneumonia, hospitalization, and even death. For this higher risk group, annual immunizations against the flu can save time and money, and even lives down the road.

  • Increase the Number of Women Over 40 Getting Screened for Breast Cancer Annually: Early detection of breast cancer can save lives. Finding cancer before symptoms develop helps your chances of winning the battle. The sooner you learn that you have breast cancer and begin treating it, the better your chances are for successful treatment. Women 40 and over should have a screening mammogram every year.

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    Add a Comment
    by gangesdak August 9, 2007 11:59 AM PDT
    What a revelation! To think of "experts" doling out such nuggets of truth to the ignoramous (spelling OK!).
    Reply to this comment
    by pugster August 9, 2007 1:45 PM PDT
    Prevention works. Think Cuba, they preach prevention and they spend on an average $250 per person per year for heathcare.
    Reply to this comment
    by leidhold August 9, 2007 6:31 PM PDT
    WHAT ABOUT STOPPING EXCESSIVE VACUUM EXTRACTIONS ON BABIES!!!

    COST: SAVING MY BABY FROM STROKING AND HAVING A DISABILITY FOR LIFE....

    SENAY, WHY DON'T YOU WRITE TO ALL THE DR'S IN THE USA AND THE WORLD AND GET THE WORLD OUT: STOP KILLING AND DISABLING BABIES AND PEOPLE!!!

    WHITE COAT CRIMINALS!!

    LEIDHOLD...
    MY LIFE IS WRECKED AND MY SON HAS CP FROM NEGLIGENCE, FROM THE MEDICAL COMMUNITIES IGNORANCE OF PROCEDURES AND MEDICINES GIVEN OUT TO EASILY AND FREQUENTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    WHY DON'T YOU WRITE ABOUT VACUUM EXTRACTION CAUSING BABIES TO DIE AND HAVE LIFE-LONG DISABILITIES!!! YOU WON'T WRITE IT BECAUSE YOU WOULD BE TATTLE TALING/TAILING ON YOUR ASSOCIATES.

    YOU GUYS ARE STICK UP FOR EACH OTHER.... UNTIL YOUR LIFE GETS WRECKED BY THEM PERSONALLY!!!!!!!

    LEIDHOLD..
    MY OPINION ALWAYS....
    JUST SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN MESSED W/ BY THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY WAY TOO MANY TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Reply to this comment
    by michellem99-2009 August 9, 2007 7:53 PM PDT
    DR start with washing yer paws,having proper bedside manners,seeing that patent as a human being and not just a part of yer paycheck.
    I know more pain than you and that fancy license that you can turn away the poor. Can I have faith in yer kind as years ago yer lack of how to safely brings us the the world. Steal our eyes. Give us C/P. tell my parents yer lies so they were forced to kiss yer arse.You have that bloody power that you oaught not. So now you want to tell us how to take care of us, Miss Senay are you really a doc or just a lady reporter with a pretty face ,full sight, can walk with no problems,seizure free. LOVELY DEAR. now GO TO HELP US LIVE A FREE LIVE LEARN DEAR WHAT A LEGALLY BLIND AND MULTI HANDICAP MUST LIVE.NO PITY. How I have no idea of yer world,as I tap my way around,try to walk the best I can, pray my angel will be there as If I fall she will guard me. I use a magnifier to read. You have a lovely education ,when in my day they would not educate kids like me but we had to go to lessons cos the laws told us be there.
    Reply to this comment
    by grammawhamma August 10, 2007 1:06 AM PDT
    Hmmmm...I thought the five would be: don't smoke, don't drink alcohol, exercise, eat healthy and get regular check-ups. Of course if we prevented 100,000 deaths a year it would cause the population to go up even more....so eat, drink, smoke and be merry!!

    Those of you health freaks out there that plan on living forever will be the real drain on society...and guess what...you also will die eventually.

    It seems to me that the global warming alarmists are the same people that are forcing all of the rest of us to live a "healthy" life but yet they condone abortion because over-population is bad for the planet. I would rather see a new life start then having an aging population kept alive by modern technology and eventually discarded in a nursing home.


    Reply to this comment
    by kommoncents-2009 August 10, 2007 11:03 AM PDT
    I say if you don't care enough about yourself or are just plain ignorant and don't take care of yourself and get regular checkups then, well, you die. It's your choice. There are too many people clogging up this planet anyway.
    Reply to this comment
    by kaiyo4u August 12, 2007 11:14 AM PDT
    Posted by seandgreen
    Reply to this comment
    by kaiyo4u August 12, 2007 11:25 AM PDT
    Posted by seandgreen
    I've had good and not so good docs in the past.
    Glad to see someone here sticking up for the good ones.
    I understand where you are coming from about services. The cost of education, running a clinic, having to absorb costs from the HMO's and the insurance companies. It gets very expensive.
    You are also in it as a business too, let's not forget that.
    Should I charge you penny for penny for the services I provide?
    An MRI I had to undergo for shoulder pain cost me $125.00 out of pocket because of health insurance.
    The total procedure at that time was $1500.00. That was the cost to the insurance company. The prcedure cost anyone paying out of pocket was $2500.00.
    It would seem to me there is disparity here for the uninsured.
    Could you please answer why that is?
    Is it the bargaining power of the health insurance corporations? Is it that you have to charge more to the uninsured for having to take payments over time?
    It would be interesting to find out...
    Reply to this comment
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