2024 Early Detection Survey

Screening knowledge and behaviors

The Prevent Cancer Foundation’s annual Early Detection Survey asks U.S. adults about their knowledge and behaviors around routine cancer screening.¹ The most recent survey, conducted in January-February 2024, shows that nearly 70% of survey respondents are not up to date on at least one of their routine cancer screenings.²

Here’s the good news: When people learn about the importance of early detection, 73% of people said they were more likely to schedule their next recommended cancer screening. Early Detection = Better Outcomes and spreading the word about this message motivates people to get screened, saving lives.

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MORE DETAILS | Insurance can make or break preventing cancer or finding it early

To see the 2023 Early Detection Survey results, click here.

1 Research Methodology: The Prevent Cancer Foundation commissioned Atomik Research to conduct the Foundation’s second annual Early Detection Survey of U.S. adults. The study consisted of an online survey questionnaire, which included several repeated measures from a previous year’s questionnaire and a primary data set gathered from a sample of 7,004 adults located throughout the United States. The sample consists of adults 21 years of age or older, and researchers implemented several demographic-based quotas in order to achieve sample characteristics similar to the U.S. population of adults 21 and older.

In addition to the 51 participants identifying as indigenous American (i.e., Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native or any other indigenous populations recognized by the U.S. Census.) within the nationally representative sample of 7,004 respondents, researchers gathered an additional oversample of 255 participants 21 years old or older who identify as part of the United States’ indigenous population for further in-depth analysis. 

The margin of error of the overall sample is +/- 1 percentage points with a confidence level of 95%. Fieldwork took place between January 5 and February 8 of 2024.  Atomik Research is an independent market research agency.

2 The cancer screenings studied in this survey were for breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, oral cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer and testicular cancer.