“We can. I can.” – combat cancer through early detection.
Several screening tests have been shown to detect cancer early and reduce the chance of dying from that cancer.
Diagnosing cancer isn’t always easy. Cancer can cause many symptoms. Only a doctor can tell if your symptoms are caused by cancer or some other problem. People with symptoms that do not go away should see a doctor.
Although, not all cancers show early signs and symptoms, for a number of cancers, increasing awareness of signs and symptoms and the importance of timely treatment has been shown to improve survival from cancer. This is because finding cancer early almost always makes it easier to treat or even cure.
Recent figures from the United Kingdom for example, have found that for eight common cancers – bladder, bowel, breast, cervical, womb, malignant melanoma, ovarian and testicular cancers – survival is three times higher when cancer is diagnosed early.
Health professionals play a critical role in early diagnosis. Being equipped with the knowledge and skills to recognise the early warning signs of some cancers, knowing when symptoms need to be investigated and referring patients promptly for tests, can contribute to increasing the proportion of cancers that are found early.
Checking for cancer (or for conditions that may become cancer) in people who have no symptoms is called screening. Screening can help doctors find and treat several types of cancer early. Early detection is important because when abnormal tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat. By the time
symptoms appear, cancer may have begun to spread and is harder to treat.
For instance, clinical breast examination can be performed by trained healthcare professionals and has the potential to detect cancers earlier.
Individuals can also be encouraged to know what’s normal for their body and to recognise any unusual or persistent changes. For example, a person can become familiar with the look of their skin so they can be aware of any changes that might suggest a skin cancer, such as recognising a spot that is growing and changing in shape or size.
Visual screening for oral cancer is also effective in reducing deaths from this type of cancer in users of tobacco and/or alcohol.
It is important to keep in mind that cancer screening tests can have potential harms as well as benefits. For example, screening tests can have false-positive results indicating that cancer may be present even though it is not or false-negative results indicating that cancer is not present even though it is. It can be helpful for people to discuss the potential harms as well as benefits of different cancer screening tests with their doctors.
Many cancers can be successfully treated and even cured with awareness of early warning signs and symptoms, proper cancer screening, and early diagnosis.
For additional information regarding the early detection of cancer, contact the Health Promotion Unit at 338-3064.
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