Cancer Screening

Cancer Screening And Screening Health Packages

Cancer screening aims to detect cancer before symptoms appear. This may involve blood tests, urine tests, other tests, or medical imaging. The benefits of screening in terms of cancer prevention, early detection, and subsequent treatment must be weighed against any harm.

How do you get tested for cancer?

Examples of blood tests used to diagnose cancer include:

Complete blood count (CBC). This common blood test measures the number of various types of blood cells in a sample of your blood.

Blood protein testing.

Tumor marker tests.

Circulating tumor cell tests.

Cancer blood tests: Lab tests used in cancer

What is the screening test?

Screening tests are laboratory tests that help to identify people with increased risk for a condition or disease before they have symptoms or even realize they may be at risk so that preventive measures can be taken. They are an important part of preventive health care.

What are screening tests? – Lab Tests Online

How do you know if you have any kind of cancer?

Many cancers can be felt through the skin. These cancers occur mostly in the breast, testicles, lymph nodes (glands), and the soft tissues of the body. A lump or thickening may be an early or late sign of cancer and should be reported to a doctor, especially if you’ve just found it or noticed it has grown in size.

Signs and Symptoms of Cancer – American Cancer Society

Screening Tests That Have Been Shown To Reduce Cancer Deaths

Colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and high-sensitivity fecal occult blood tests (FOBTs)
These tests have all been shown to reduce deaths from colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy also help prevent colorectal cancer because they can detect abnormal colon growths (polyps) that can be removed before they develop into cancer. Expert groups generally recommend that people who are at average risk for colorectal cancer have a screening at ages 50 through 75. For more information, see the Tests to Detect Colorectal Cancer and Polyps fact sheet and the PDQ Colorectal Cancer Screening summary.

Low-dose helical computed tomography
This test to screen for lung cancer has been shown to reduce lung cancer deaths among heavy smokers ages 55 to 74. For more information, see the National Lung Screening Trial page and the PDQ Lung Cancer Screening summary.

Mammography
This method to screen for breast cancer has been shown to reduce mortality from the disease among women ages 40 to 74, especially those aged 50 or older. For more information, see the Mammograms fact sheet and the PDQ Breast Cancer Screening summary.

Pap test and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing
These tests reduce the incidence of cervical cancer because they allow abnormal cells to be identified and treated before they become cancer. They also reduce deaths from cervical cancer. Testing is generally recommended to begin at age 21 and to end at age 65, as long as recent results have been normal. For more information, see the Pap and HPV Testing fact sheet and the PDQ Cervical Cancer Screening summary.

Other Screening Tests

Alpha-fetoprotein blood test
This test is sometimes used, along with an ultrasound of the liver, to try to detect liver cancer early in people at high risk of the disease. Visit Liver Oncology UAE. For more information, see the PDQ Liver (Hepatocellular) Cancer Screening summary.
Breast MRI
This imaging test is often used for women who carry a harmful mutation in the BRCA1 gene or the BRCA2gene; such women have a high risk of breast cancer, as well as an increased risk for other cancers. For more information, see the BRCA1 and BRCA2: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing fact sheet and the PDQ Breast Cancer Screening summary.

CA-125 test
This blood test, which is often done together with a transvaginal ultrasound, may be used to try to detect ovarian cancer early, especially in women with an increased risk of the disease. Although this test can help in diagnosing ovarian cancer in women who have symptoms and can be used to evaluate the recurrence of cancer in women previously diagnosed with the disease, it has not been shown to be an effective ovarian cancer screening test. For more information, see the PDQ Ovarian Cancer Screening summary.

Clinical breast exams and regular breast self-exams
Routine examination of the breasts by health care providers or by women themselves have not been shown to reduce deaths from breast cancer. However, if a woman or her health care provider notices a lump or other unusual change in the breast, it is important to get it checked out. For more information, see the PDQ Breast Cancer Screening summary.

PSA test
This blood test, which is often done along with a digital rectal exam, is able to detect prostate cancer at an early stage. However, expert groups no longer recommend routine PSA testing for most men because studies have shown that it has little or no effect on prostate cancer deaths and leads to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. For more information, see the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test fact sheet and the PDQ Prostate Cancer Screening summary.

Skin exams
Doctors often recommend that people who are at risk for skin cancer examine their skin regularly or have a healthcare provider do so. Such exams have not been shown to decrease the risk of dying from skin cancer, and they may lead to overtreatment. However, people should be aware of changes in their skin, such as a new mole or a change to an existing mole, and report these to their doctor promptly. For more information, see the Common Moles, Dysplastic Nevi, and Risk of Melanoma fact sheet and the PDQ Skin Cancer Screening summary.

Transvaginal ultrasound
This imaging test, which can create pictures of a woman�s ovaries and uterus, is sometimes used in women who are at increased risk of ovarian cancer (because they carry a harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation) or endometrial cancer (because they have a condition called Lynch syndrome). But it has not been shown to reduce deaths from either cancer. For more information, see the PDQ Ovarian Cancer Screening summary and the PDQ Endometrial Cancer Screening summary.

Virtual colonoscopy
This test allows the colon and rectum to be examined from outside the body. However, it has not been shown to reduce deaths from colorectal cancer. For more information, see the Tests to Detect Colorectal Cancer and Polyps fact sheet and the PDQ Colorectal Cancer Screening summary.

Types Of Cancer Screening