According to the American Cancer Society nearly 1.7 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2017. It affects men and women almost equally. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that the direct medical costs for cancer in the United States in 2014 were $87.8 billion. In this latest installment of Mayo Clinic’s National Health Checkup, consumers were asked about their attitudes and perceptions about cancer including the following areas:
• What types of barriers have they or a loved one faced in obtaining cancer treatment?
• What kind of preventative measures do they take to avoid cancer?
• What factors, if any, would impact their decision to see a doctor if they had cancer symptoms?
• Does the cost of healthcare concern them about their ability to get cancer treatment?
In this interview, oncologist Dr. Minetta Liu, discusses the results from the Mayo Clinic National Health Checkup and what Americans should be doing to help prevent cancer and what to do if they have symptoms.
Minetta Liu, M.D., is an oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Her research focuses on breast cancer and blood-based biomarkers in solid tumors. In addition to her oncology practice, Dr. Liu leads several collaborative multi-institutional clinical trials through organizations such as the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium. Dr. Liu studied molecular biology at Princeton University before receiving her medical degree at Jefferson Medical College. She completed a residency at Georgetown University Medical Center.
