Table 2.

Patient Characteristics and Location of Surgery for Patients in Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry Cohorts

	Colon Cancer (N = 4,017)			Lung Cancer (N = 1,521)
	N	% Surgery Out of VHA Covered by Medicare	p Value*	N	% Surgery Out of VHA Covered by Medicare	p Value*
Age
65–69	832	4.0	.97	514	4.1	.12
70–74	1,098	4.3		478	6.5
75–79	1,097	4.2		383	6.3
80+	990	3.9		146	8.9
Year
2001	1,001	4.9	.53	360	6.9	.32
2002	1,037	3.9		390	6.9
2003	1,029	3.7		393	4.3
2004	950	4.0		378	5.3
Service-connected disability†
None	2,682	4.5	.11	1,041	5.0	.16
<10%	190	5.3		63	9.5
10%–40%	573	3.1		224	7.1
≥50%	556	3.3		189	7.9
Distance from VHA facility
<30 miles	2,313	3.9	.62	716	4.9	.12
30–60 miles	738	4.7		334	8.1
>60 miles	966	4.0		471	5.7

Notes.

^*Using the chi-square test.

^†Numbers do not sum to total because data about service-connected disability were missing for 16 patients with colon cancer and four patients with lung cancer.

VHA, Veterans Health Administration.