Cancer Screenings Save Lives
- New findings, published in JAMA Oncology, have estimated that 5.94 million deaths were prevented from breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, and cervical cancers combined thanks to cancer prevention and screening efforts.
- An independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) says that women should start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered the age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives
- Smoking may be the first cause that comes to mind with lung cancer. And it is true that smoking causes most cases of this cancer. Tobacco smoke contains a mixture of more than 7,000 different chemicals, at least 70 of which are known to cause cancer. If you quit smoking, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing the disease and dying from it. Yet almost 20% of people who die from lung cancer in the United States each year have never smoked or used any other form of tobacco.
- Cervical cancer, which has been linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV), is curable when discovered early through routine screening, which is done through Pap Smears or HPV tests.
- Early detection of prostate is important as it can help reduce the risk of cancer spreading to other organs. Screening for prostate cancer generally involves a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test and a digital rectal exam to feel the prostate gland. The prostate-specific antigen is a protein secreted by the prostate gland, large amounts of which can indicate prostate cancer.
- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends state colon cancer screenings should begin at 45-years-old. This is in response to a rise in colon cancer diagnoses in younger adults. In the past, the disease had predominantly been found in adults 50-years or older, but for those predisposed to get it at a younger age, these new guidelines could potentially help catch it at an earlier stage.
The model-based study, which used population-level cancer mortality data and statistical models created by the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network between 1975 and 2020, found that cancer prevention and screening efforts “averted 8 of 10 of these deaths (4.75 million averted deaths).”
Read MoreScreening also led to a whopping to 56% percent of averted prostate cancer deaths.
Tobacco control was also found to have led a whopping 98% percent of averted deaths. Treatment advances helped the remaining averted deaths.
Take it From a Guy Who Looks at Diseased Lungs Every Day — Stop Smoking
Meanwhile, approximately 160,000 cervical cancer deaths were prevented thanks to Pap smears and and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. Removal of precancerous polyps also helped avert cancer deaths.
It’s important to understand that 80 million Americans have HPV, or the human papillomavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and for most people it won’t cause any problems. HPV affects both men and women and in a small percentage it can lead to cancer most commonly of the cervix and head and neck.
The HPV vaccine is recommended to protect against these cancers. “The key with the vaccine is that you receive it before you have sexual encounters,” Dr. Jessica Geiger, a medical oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center previously told SurvivorNet. “So that’s why these vaccines are approved for young children … ages 9, 10, 11 years old, up to age 26.”
The Importance of Cancer Screenings
- Lung Cancer Screening Has Come a Long Way, But Only 10% of Eligible People Take Advantage
- 87% of Eligible People Skipped Lung Cancer Screening, Analysis Finds; Knowing the Importance of Lung Cancer Screenings
- The PSA Blood Test and a Rectal Exam are Vital for Prostate Cancer Screening
- ‘Controversial’ HPV Vaccine Shown to be Highly Effective in Wiping Out Cervical Cancer
- All Americans Should Begin Colorectal Cancer Screening at Age 45, According to New Guidelines; Previous Age Was 50
- Bi-Annual Mammograms At Age 40 Now Recommended For Most Women, What The New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Mean For You
Why the HPV Vaccine is so Important in Preventing Cancer
As for averted colorectal cancer deaths, screening and the surgical removal of precancerous polyps also made had a major impact, as well as advances in treatment. Study authors found that 79 percent of deaths were averted during the study timeframe.
Co-author Philip E. Castle, PhD, MPH, of the National Cancer Institute, said during a recent press briefing on the study, as per MedPage Today, “A multi-prong approach is needed to reduce the burden of cancer in the United States.
“And while cancer treatment keeps those with cancer from dying, cancer prevention and control keeps people from ever getting cancer, keeps healthy people healthy, and the quality of life of those who never get cancer is much greater than those who have to undergo cancer treatment.”
He continued, “There is more work to be done. Not only is there more to be done in terms of people accessing the current methods of prevention and control, we need new methods for prevention and control of recalcitrant cancers, such as those of the ovary and pancreas, which cause more than 10,000 and 50,000 deaths, respectively, annually.”
The study authors concluded, “Over the past 45 years, cancer prevention and screening accounted for most cancer deaths averted for these causes; however, their contribution varied by cancer site according to these models using population-level cancer mortality data.
“Despite progress, efforts to reduce the US cancer burden will require increased dissemination of effective interventions and new technologies and discoveries.”
Protocols For Screening For Major Cancer Types
It’s imperative to know that early detection is key in many cases, for example, women are advised to start screening for breast cancer at age 40 and people with no family history of colon cancer should begin screening at age 45.
Additionally, cervical cancer screening is advised to begin at 25 with a primary HPV test (a more ‘sensitive’ test than a Pap test) and continue every 5 years, according to American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines.
Also, the guidelines for prostate cancer screening depend largely on your risk for the disease, and that’s based on several factors including family history, genetics, age, and race.
Screening is simple and consists of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal exam to feel the prostate gland. “It’s slightly uncomfortable but painless, and takes less than 30 seconds,” Dr. Edwin Posadas, Director of Translational Oncology and the Medical Director of the Urologic Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
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Lung Cancer is the Most Deadly Cancer by Far
More men and women die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. We’ve all heard the story, that tobacco in cigarettes is a carcinogen that causes mutations in lung cells and enables the growth of cancer. If you quit smoking, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing the disease, but you don’t go all the way down to the level of a non-smoker. Still, nearly 20 percent of people who die from lung cancer in the United States each year have never smoked or used any other form of tobacco.
Lung Cancer: Prevention & Screening
Even though lung cancer is most commonly seen in smokers, there are a handful of other environmental factors that can cause the disease. The leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers is exposure to radon gas, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It accounts for about 21,000 deaths from lung cancer each year. But because radon can’t be seen or smelled, the only way to know whether it’s accumulating in your home is to test for it.
Another big cause of lung cancer in non-smokers is simply breathing in secondhand smoke. That amounts to around 7,000 deaths from lung cancer each year. Exposure to other harmful chemicals like asbestos may also cause lung cancer. Asbestos was commonly used for insulation, roofing, and in various paints and plastics before it was banned by the EPA in 1989.
You may also be at a higher risk of developing lung cancer if you are constantly exposed to air pollution, or if you have a family history of lung cancer. New research also suggests that people infected with HIV have a higher risk of developing lung cancer compared to the general population. HIV weakens the immune system and reduces the body’s ability to fight off other viral infections that may cause various cancers.
Many lung cancers are found accidentally, and they usually affect people above the age of 65. A small number of people are diagnosed younger than 45 years old. Talk to your doctor about getting a low-dose CT scan (LDCT) or chest x-ray if you are at high risk or if you experience a cough that doesn’t go away, a cough that produces bloody mucus, or if you experience chest pain or trouble swallowing or breathing.
Lung Cancer Screening Has Come a Long Way, But Only 10% of Eligible People Take Advantage
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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