People Aren’t Showing Up For Cancer Screenings

Nearly half of all women invited for cancer screenings are making appointments, the Icelandic Cancer Society revealed. Just 52% of women who were invited for breast cancer screenings in 2022 made appointments and attended. Women of foreign origin are 39% less likely to attend cancer screenings than Icelandic women. Across demographics, uptake of cancer screening in Iceland is below participation in other Nordic nations and beneath OECD average.

The head of the cancer society said that a number of factors need to be addressed in order to promote cancer screenings, including slashing wait times and making screenings free. Though women aged 40 to 69 are invited to breast cancer screenings every second year, the screenings currently cost 6.000 ISK.

Cancer can be a scary word, but the entire ordeal can be slightly less scary if detected early. Go get checked, people.