Cancer Screening

• At age 40, all women should be screened for breast cancer at a breast imaging center.
• From age 45 to 55, yearly screenings should continue.
• At age 55, exams can be scheduled every two years.
• If you have dense breast tissue, your doctor may recommend a 3-D mammogram.
• If someone in your immediate family has had breast cancer, your mammograms should begin earlier.
• Check out these questions to ask before scheduling your mammogram.

• All women between the ages of 21 and 30 should have a Pap test every three years.
• Beginning at age 30, women are encouraged to add the HPV test every five years.
• After age 65, you may discontinue screening unless you are at high risk for developing the disease.

Colon screenings should begin at age 45 for people at average risk. Your care provider may recommend you begin screenings earlier if you have a family history of cancer.

There are different tests available to screen for colon cancer. You should talk to your doctor about which test is right for you.

Resources

• Colonoscopy Questions and Answers
• Guide to Colon Cancer Screening

• For men and women with a history of cigarette smoking who have at least a 20-pack year smoking history or have quit within the past 15 years.
• Low-dose CT screenings will be done annually for as long as the patient qualifies in the Lung Cancer Screening Program.
• Age to start Lung Cancer Screenings is 50 and it goes to age 77.

There are two tests to check men for prostate cancer.

• For the digital rectal exam, a doctor will physically feel the prostate and determine if anything is abnormal.
• The PSA blood test measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in your blood.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men be screened for prostate cancer beginning at age 50. African American men should begin screening at age 45, as they are at higher risk for developing prostate cancer.

Check with your doctor on the screening best for you. Your doctor will explain that certain medical conditions, such as an inflamed or enlarged prostate, can lead to false positive test results. Our specialists recommend that you have the digital rectal exam annually and will use the PSA test accordingly.

You can be screened for other cancers, too.

Other cancer tests can be used if you have a family history or are at high risk. They can screen for indications of esophageal, pancreatic, and endometrial cancers.