IMPORTANCE OF EARLY DETECTION

Cancer is a major cause of illness and death. If all screening-accessible cancers were diagnosed at a localized stage through regular cancer screenings, the 5-year relative survival rate would be 95 percent.

Screening is a means of finding early cancers in people who have no symptoms. Examples include cervical Pap smears, manual breast exams, fecal blood tests, and sigmoidoscopies. In many kinds of cancer, by the time that there are symptoms, the cancer is too far advanced to be able to cure it. Screening helps to sort out persons at high risk for cancer. To be most useful, the screening test must detect cancers before symptoms begin.

When a screening report comes back positive for a malignancy (cancer), more diagnostic tests are needed. These tests may include biopsies, laboratory work, and imaging procedures, such as a CT scan or MRI. It is important to follow up any positive screening tests with a full diagnostic work-up.

Some individuals are known to be at high risk for cancer. High risk factors include:

a strong family history of cancer
known occupational exposure to cancer-causing substances
lifestyle factors such as smoking status, dietary patterns, and history of viral infections and
previous cancers

If you have been told that you are at high risk for a specific cancer, ask your healthcare provider what steps you need to take. The survival time and the rate of cure of a cancer is normally increased the sooner a cancer is discovered.

See your healthcare provider for advice about your cancer risk factors, and how often you should have screening exams. For more information, contact the American Cancer Society at (800) ACS-2345 or the National Cancer Institute at (800) 4-CANCER.

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

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