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What is cancer screening and why is it so important?
13.10.2023 08:48
In the modern world, people's life expectancy is increasing, but, unfortunately, the number of people suffering from cancer is also growing.
According to statistics, malignant tumors are the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases.
The reason for this is late seeking of medical help. Detection of cancer at late stages significantly complicates treatment and worsens the prognosis.
Doctor of the HappyDerm medical center Lyudmila Artyushkevich notes that if cancer is detected in the early stages, the disease can be successfully treated in 90% of cases.
But why do people seek medical attention so late? This is because early symptoms of cancer may be either unnoticeable or similar to signs of other, non-oncological diseases.
Screening – what is it?
This term, derived from the English word screen (to sift, to select), refers to the mass examination of healthy people in order to detect asymptomatic diseases.
Oncoscreening is the type of screening that is aimed at finding precancerous conditions or tumors in the early stages, when the disease does not yet have clinical symptoms.
The main value of this test is the ability to detect cancer at an early stage, when it is completely curable.
Currently, large-scale screening for the four most common types of cancer is being carried out at the state level in Belarus:
- mammary gland;
- cervix;
- large intestine;
- prostate gland.
Breast cancer
Screening is intended for women aged 50 to 69 years and includes mammography every two years. If suspicious changes are detected, additional specialized studies are carried out.
Cervical cancer
It is performed on women aged 30 to 60 years. This type of examination includes a gynecologist's examination and taking a smear from the cervix for a Pap test (cytological examination) once every three years. If the results are positive, a colposcopy with a biopsy of suspicious areas is performed.
Colon cancer
Screening is available for men and women aged 50 to 60 years and involves a stool test for occult blood. If the results are positive, a colonoscopy is ordered twice.
Identifying and removing polyps during colonoscopy is important in preventing cancer. The frequency of follow-up examinations is determined by the doctor.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer screening is performed in men aged 50 to 65 years and includes a blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels every two years.
In addition to mass screening, there are:
- Individual screening: when a person regularly checks his health for tumors on his own initiative.
- Selective screening: which involves testing people at risk for certain types of cancer:
- If a person smokes a lot for a long time, it is important for him to undergo examination for lung cancer.
- It is important for people who abuse alcohol to monitor the condition of their liver.
- If a person spends a lot of time in the sun and has a family history of melanoma, it is important to have their skin examined, especially for birthmarks.
Oncoscreening not only reveals hidden forms of cancer, but in most cases also gives confidence that a person is healthy. And when confidence appears, you can confidently make plans for the future.
