We provide an oral cancer screening at each check up.

Skipping Cancer Screening Associated With Higher Mortality From Other Causes, Analysis Indicates.

Reuters (1/2, Rapaport) reports research suggests that “adults who skip recommended cancer screenings may be more likely than those who don’t skip them to die prematurely from causes unrelated to malignancies.” Investigators “think skipping screenings may be a marker for more generally neglecting one’s own health.” Study co-author Dr. Paul Pinsky, of the National Cancer Institute, said, “It was not a direct effect of missing the cancer screening that led to the increased mortality in the non-compliers.” Dr. Pinsky said in an email, “Rather, we believe that non-compliance with the screening was a marker of a wider health behavioral profile of general non-compliance with or non-adherence to medical tests and treatments.” Dr. Pinsky added, “Non-compliance with medical procedures has also been linked, in this and other studies, to other unhealthy lifestyle factors such as obesity and smoking, and to lower education.” The findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.