Overall, black women in the United States ranked slightly higher than their white counterparts -- and well above other ethnic minorities -- when it came to some cancer screenings.

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Here is some good news concerning African Americans and health:

A federal study released Thursday found that black women are among the most likely in the United States to be screened for breast and cervical cancers.

Of the 4,869 women between the ages of 50 and 74 who were surveyed, 72.4 percent said they had been screened for breast cancer within the two previous years. African American women were atop that list at 73.2 percent, followed by whites at 72.8 percent. The federal government has set a goal of having 81.1 percent of all age-appropriate women in America screened regularly by 2010. Slightly less than 70 percent of Hispanics women and 61.4 percent of Asians reported being screened for breast cancer.

Black women also were reported high rates (85 percent) for cervical cancer screening within the three previous years. (The survey group was between the ages of 21 and 65.) Screening rates for other groups were: 83.4 percent for white, 75.4 percent for Asians and 78.7 percent for Hispanics. The 2020 target for cervical cancer screening is 93 percent.

African Americans did not fair as well when it came to screening for colorectal cancer. Only 55 percent of black men and women reported having been screened. Medical guidelines call for colorectal screenings for both genders between the ages of 50 and 75. Nearly 60 percent of whites reported having been screened, compared with 46.9 percent of Asians and46.5 percent of Hispanics. The 2020 goal for colorectal screenings is 70.5 percent.

Each year, approximately 350,000 persons are diagnosed with breast, cervical or colorectal cancer in the United States, and nearly 100,000 die from these diseases.

The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, found that education, availability and use of health care and length of U.S. residence all played a positive role in increasing the likelihood that individuals would be screened.

Click here to download a (.pdf) copy of the report.

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