Cancer screenings should be performed when you are healthy and do not have any symptoms. They help identify cancers at their earliest stages, when there may be a better chance for cure.
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center’s C.A.R.E. Network offers free cancer screenings to men and women who qualify. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center recommends that you follow the guidelines below.
Cancer-Related General Checkup
Men and women 20-40 should have a general cancer checkup every three years. Men and women 40 and older should have a general cancer checkup annually. Checkup may include examination for cancers of thyroid, oral cavity, skin, lymph nodes, testes and ovaries.
Colon & Rectum
Beginning at age 50, men and women should begin screening with one of the examination schedules below:
Skin
Adult men and women should examine skin regularly and see a physician to evaluate new growths or changes in existing growths.
For a personalized cancer risk assessment, visit MyCancerRisk.com.
Breast
Women should get a clinical breast exam at least every three years, starting in their 20s, and get an annual exam and mammogram starting at 40. Breast self-exam is an option beginning at age 20. See a doctor about any breast change.
For a personalized cancer risk assessment, visit MyCancerRisk.com.
Cervix & Uterus
Women should get annual Pap tests starting about three years after first vaginal intercourse or by age 21, whichever comes first. At or after age 30, women who have three normal Pap tests may get screened every two or three years. After 70, screening may stop for women who have had three normal Pap tests in a row in the last ten years.
For a personalized cancer risk assessment, visit MyCancerRisk.com.
Prostate
For men with a life expectancy of at least ten years, digital rectal exam and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test should be offered annually for African American men at age 45 and all other races at 50. Doctors and patients should discuss the pros and cons of prostate screening. Men with a strong family history of prostate cancer should begin five years earlier than the age stated above.
For a personalized cancer risk assessment, visit MyCancerRisk.com.
Note: These guidelines are for people at average risk for cancer. Those with a higher risk may need earlier screening.