Every cancer screening campaign is built on a simple hope that the right reminder reaches the right person at the right time. But reaching someone doesn’t mean they’ll act. The disconnect between the message and action is a gap I keep coming back to in my work.
A 45-year-old parent sees a message about colorectal cancer screening between meetings, at school pickup, or while sorting through a full inbox. They see the message, but they may not see themselves in it, or it kicks off a cascade of thoughts that make avoidance easier than action. I feel fine. I thought this started later. Is this covered? Is an at-home test enough? What happens if something comes back positive?
That’s why healthcare marketers should think of cancer screening campaigns as an opportunity to build health literacy, not simply awareness. Low health literacy makes it harder for people to connect screening information to their own risk, understand what it means for them, and decide what to do next.
Why health literacy matters in colorectal cancer screening
The American Cancer Society reports that early-stage colorectal cancer detection is associated with five-year survival rates above 90%. At the same time, colorectal cancer is increasingly being diagnosed in younger adults. The American Cancer Society estimates that people younger than 55 now account for about 20% of colorectal cancer cases, up from 11% in 1995, and that rates among adults younger than 50 have continued to rise. That makes it especially important for people to understand when screening begins and to complete testing when they become eligible. Yet more than 20 million eligible Americans have not been screened as recommended. Reaching those people with another reminder may not be enough if they still don’t understand why the recommendation applies to them.
The American Cancer Society’s 2026 colorectal cancer screening guideline update gives healthcare leaders a timely reason to rethink the screening journey. The recommendation is still that average-risk adults begin screening at age 45. The updated guideline adds to the screening options already available to patients, including a new at-home stool-based test and guidance around a blood-based test performed in a doctor’s office. It also reinforces that a positive stool-based or blood-based test needs timely follow-up with colonoscopy to complete the screening process.
For consumers, those details can be helpful or overwhelming depending on how healthcare marketers explain them. A healthy 45-year-old may not realize that feeling well is one reason preventive screening matters or may assume they can safely delay it. Someone reluctant to have a colonoscopy may not know that an at-home stool-based test could be an appropriate option, while another person may hesitate because they are unsure what happens after a positive result. Clear, plain-language messaging can reduce that uncertainty by explaining who should screen, what options may be available, and why timely follow-up matters.
Health literacy and financial literacy shape the decision to act
Perceived costs can create another barrier, even when someone understands the value of screening. People may worry about out-of-pocket expenses, time away from work, transportation, childcare, or what follow-up care could require. Addressing those concerns directly can help bridge the gap between understanding a recommendation and acting on it.
Health literacy and financial literacy issues extend beyond colorectal cancer screenings. They affect breast, prostate, and lung cancer screening rates as well.
Rates of screening for breast cancer vary from 83% of women with commercial health insurance to 50% of women without insurance, with coverage through government programs falling in between. Coverage aside, there are many reasons why people don’t have routine mammograms, cost and education about risk factors and recommendations being just a few.
Two-thirds of men between 55 and 69 aren’t being screened for prostate cancer, and many of the reasons are related to misunderstanding how and when to be screened.
Only 1 in 5 people eligible for lung cancer screening had a screening in 2024 even though screening 100% of eligible people could save up to 3x more lives according to the American Cancer Society.
Healthcare marketers have an opportunity to make a real difference when it comes to educating people about the value and availability of cancer screenings. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy found that only 12% of American adults had proficient health literacy skills. People need to know whether a recommendation applies to them, what their choices mean, what follow-up may involve, and how to move forward without feeling like they have to decode the system alone.
The cost of screening has to be part of the conversation. A person can understand the value of screening and still hesitate if the financial path feels uncertain. They may not know whether a test is preventive or diagnostic, whether they need to stay in network, or whether follow-up care will be billed differently. HealthCare.gov notes that many preventive services are generally covered at no cost when provided by an in-network provider, while coverage can vary and zero cost is not guaranteed in every case. For many consumers, the possibility of cost is enough to slow momentum.
People need enough information to understand their own risk and enough guidance to know what to do with that information. That’s where Health Risk Assessments become useful.
Health Risk Assessments can make screening risk personal
Health Risk Assessments are often described as acquisition tools, and they are. But appointments for screenings are the downstream reward for helping someone learn about their health. A cancer screening HRA can ask about age, family history, prior screening, smoking history, symptoms, and barriers, then translate those answers into plain-language education and a relevant next step.
For the 45-year-old who still thinks colorectal cancer screening begins later, an HRA can make the recommendation personal. Instead of asking someone to interpret general screening guidance and decide whether it applies, the assessment connects that guidance to the information they already know about themselves.
I’ve written before about why this matters. People often come to HRAs because they already have questions about symptoms, family history, or changes in their health that they haven’t discussed with a physician. A personalized assessment gives those questions context and helps point someone toward an appropriate next step.
Across Unlock Health HRA programs, consumers who complete an HRA are three to four times more likely to schedule a screening. That reflects what happens when people get information they can connect to their own health and a clear way to act on it.
Unlock’s HRA strategy across channels emphasizes that HRAs work best when connected to education, follow-up, CRM workflows, and a clear path into care. The HRA should not be the end of the journey. Completing the assessment is one step; the health system still has to help someone take the next one.
What the CHRISTUS Health case study shows about cancer screening engagement
The CHRISTUS Health breast cancer HRA case study shows what can happen when education, risk understanding, CRM integration, and coordinated outreach work together. CHRISTUS used digital HRAs, call attribution, automated nurture journeys, and patient engagement center support to strengthen breast cancer awareness and guide consumers from interest to action across Texas and Louisiana.
From July 2024 through June 2025, the campaign generated 1,922 HRA starts, 1,221 completed breast cancer assessments, and 1,312 leads captured. Twenty percent of participants were prompted to schedule a mammogram, and 48% were prompted for genetic screening. Downstream, 520 total patients were attributed to the HRA campaign, including 94 new patients and 42 new breast cancer patients.
Those downstream numbers matter because the goal was never simply to get someone to complete an assessment. The HRA helped people understand their risk, while the connected experience gave CHRISTUS a way to continue the conversation and guide them toward care.
A clearer path to completed cancer screening
Cancer screening guidance will keep changing as evidence and screening technology evolve. Health systems will have to translate those recommendations for people making decisions in the middle of ordinary, busy lives.
For healthcare marketers, that means looking beyond whether a campaign generated impressions, clicks, or even HRA completions. We need to help people understand why screening matters to them, answer the questions that can keep them from acting, and give them a clear way into care.
HRAs give healthcare organizations a practical way to do that by connecting general screening recommendations to an individual’s risk and helping that person understand what to do next.
The goal isn’t a completed assessment. It’s a completed screening.
