M. D. Anderson-Prevention poll finds women can do more to prevent cancer ... ...(percent of respondents age 50 and older ...),Health

• of smokers, 65 percent had ever had a mammogram; and 23 percent have had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy

• 67 percent of respondents had heard about it

• 78 percent of those who had heard of it thought that girls in the age group should receive it, and

• 70 percent of women with daughters under the age of 26 (one third of respondents) who had heard of the vaccine wanted their daughter to get it

Prevention editor-in-chief Liz Vaccariello says, "We know that all cancers caused by cigarettes can be prevented and that a host of others - caused by obesity, inactivity, nutrition, infectious agents and the sun's rays - can be avoided or successfully treated when detected early. The poll begins to tap into discrepancies between what people think they are doing to protect their health and what they are actually doing, and areas where overall knowledge could be improved."

Dr. Irvin Vidrine says the findings underscore how difficult it is to change personal behaviors, particularly for women whose family and career responsibilities may leave little time to tend to personal health matters. "Our findings should serve as a wake-up call to women. As the divide between knowing and doing becomes clear, women can be more vigilant in taking their cancer prevention behaviors to a higher level of compliance."

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