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What is Cancer Screening?

Some cancers can be found before they cause symptoms. The process of checking for cancer in people that not not yet been diagnosed with cancer is called screening. Screening allows doctors to find and treat cancer early. Generally, cancer treatment is more effective when the disease is found early however not all cancers can be found with screening tests. 

 

Types of Imaging Tests

  • Mammograms

  • CT Scans

 

Labratory Tests

  • Pap and HPV Testing

  • Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test

 

Gene testing for Cancer is allow available for the diseases:

  • Cystic Fibrosis

  • Tay Sachs Disease

  • Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS)

  • Huntington's Disease

  • Catastrophically High Cholesterol

  • Breast Cancer

  • Colon Cancer

  • Thyroid Cancer

 

 

Cancer Screening

Screening

 

 

If you are at a high risk for developing cancer then we highly recommend that you get screened on a regular basis. However we do think it is important for all individuals to get screened at least yearly. Getting screening tests most often leads to early cancer detection giving you a higher chance at a cure.

 

Who should get Tested Regularly

There are two risk factors that have been determined by doctors that can cause you to develop cancer. Risk factors are characteristics or exposures to genetic and non-genetic or environmental.

 

Genetic factors are traits that are inherited through your genes. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to change this factor. You can however get tested regularly to stay one step ahead of the disease. Breast cancer is a commonly known cancer that is passed down from generation to generation in woman and sometimes in men.

 

Your environment leads to the non-genetic factors that can cause you to develop cancer. Poor diet, cigarette smoke, secondhand smoke, lack of exercise and long term exposure to particular substances are all examples of non-genetic factors. Fortunately, you can make changes in your life to avoid some factor to deter the chances of getting cancer.

 

Available Cancer Screening Tests

The progression of medical testing research has led to screening tests to become more advanced. The tests can now more accurately detect cancer at its early stages. Most of the tests are noninvasive and only take a few minutes to perform.

 

Whether cancer runs in your family or not you can get tests to detect breast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer colon cancer and melanoma.

 

Types of Screening Tests

Most of the screening tests that are available can be done in less than an hour and are virtually painless like:

  • Diagnostic imaging

  • CT scans

  • Mammograms

 

The more invasive tests include:

  • Blood tests

  • Surgical biopsies

  • Genetic testing

 

Most of these tests are performed on an outpatient basis and take a few hours.

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