Every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and every 12 minutes a woman dies from breast cancer.  That statistic itself should prompt women to be proactive in the fight against breast cancer.  But after a recent survey on mammograms, UnitedHealthcare found out it's not the case.

UnitedHealthcare recently mailed a mammogram survey to 2,742 female members age 52-69 in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee who have not had a mammogram in the past two years.  The survey asked members why they have not received mammograms, even though mammograms are a covered health care benefit for UnitedHealthcare members.

The most common response for not having a mammogram was "I don't think I need one."

According to John Gore, M.D. and Senior Medical Director at UnitedHealthcare of Alabama, "People tend to take the 'it can't happen to me' attitude.  Some women feel if they avoid regular mammograms, they won't get cancer.  The truth is, these women are forfeiting the only defense against the disease: early detection."

Respondents also indicated that their doctor did not recommend a mammogram.  "Many physician offices actually arrange the appointment for a patient's mammogram.  That's the kind of care that can really make a difference in someone's life," Dr. Gore said.

Other reasons for avoiding mammograms included the discomfort of the procedure and lack of time to have the procedure.  "More than 75 percent of all breast cancer deaths occur in women age 55 and older.  At UnitedHealthcare, we think it is important to educate women about the importance of mammograms and self-breast examinations," said Dr. Gore.

UnitedHealthcare is a business unit of UnitedHealth Group, a diversified health care management company.  UnitedHealthcare designs and operates health benefits systems in 40 geographic service areas across the United States.  UnitedHealthcare serves approximately 6.5 million members with commercial, Medicare and Medicaid products designed to help members through all stages of life.  UnitedHealth Group (www.unitedhealthcare.com ) was recently named in Fortune magazine as one of America's most admired health care companies.