Now people have become more aware and more concerned about their health. People have also heard a lot about cancer and how to prevent it. Health conscious people try to eat healthy, exercise daily, and avoid carcinogens such as tobacco smoke, radiation and chemicals. But that is just not enough. Another way to make sure you are safe from cancer is taking precaution step; cancer screening.

Cancer screening is the act of looking for cancer before a person begins to have any symptoms. Being able to find cancer at an early stage makes it easier for doctors to treat and prevent cancer cell from spreading. It is also cheaper and less painful for patients if the cancer is treated as an early stage. To make it easier to understand the benefits of cancer screening I wound like to give an example of two types of cancer often found in woman and why itâ??s important to scan for cancer regularly.

The first type of cancer is cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a disease that affects the cervix, which is situated at the lower part of the uterus that opens at the top of the vagina. Cervical cancer usually develops very slowly and starts as a pre-cancerous condition called dysplasia. This pre-cancerous condition can be easily detected by a Pap smear and if followed up and treated properly can be 100% curable. Without being detected, dysplasia can develop into cervical cancer and spread to the bladder, intestines, liver and lungs. That is why it is very important to get regular Pap smears. Doctors recommend for woman to have a Pap test at least once every 3 years, beginning about 3 years after they begin to have sexual intercourse but no later the 21 years of age.

The second type of cancer most found in women and can be prevented by cancer screening is breast cancer. The two main types of breast cancer are ductal carcinoma which starts in the tubes that transfer milk from the breast to the nipple and lobular carcinoma which starts in the parts of the breast, called lobules that produce milk. Like cervical cancer, early breast cancer usually does not cause symptoms. Women are advised to do regular breast self-exams. This is done by checking for hard uneven lumps in the armpits and the change of size, shape and feel of the breast and nipples. You should also check for fluid coming from the nipples. Another way to check for breast cancer is by either having a clinical breast exam by a medical professional or doing a mammography screening, which is able to detect breast abnormalities that could signal breast cancer. Woman of all ages should perform monthly breast self-exams. And women who are over 40 or have high risk of developing breast cancer should have regular mammograms.

As you can see both types of cancer mentioned above do not cause symptoms at an early stage and can only be detected by cancer screening. By being able to detect cancer at an early stage can not only increase the survival rate of the patient, but can also save money, time and pain.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women not including skin cancer. During 2008, an estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women and about 1,990 new cases in men in the US. Breast cancer rates have decreased about 3.5% per year since 2001-2004 and may reflect the reduction in use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The 2002 publication of the Women’s Health Initiative linked HRT use to increased risk of heart diseases and breast cancer. In addition to invasive breast cancer, there are 67,770 new cases of situ (not yet spread) breast cancer are expected among women in 2008. Situ breast cancer incidence rates have stabilized since the late 1990s, reflecting the recent drop in mammography utilization.
An estimated 40,480 women and 450 men breast cancer patients are expected to die in 2008. Breast cancer ranks second (after lung cancer) as a cause of cancer death in women eve though it has decreased steadily since 1990. Progress in both early detection and improved treatment with contributes to the decrease.
A mammogram can detect earliest sign of breast cancer. The abnormality, painless mass in the breast may not be felt by the woman or a healthcare professional. Other less common symptoms may include persistent changes to the breast: thickening, redness swelling, skin irritation, distortion, tenderness or scaliness. Nipples also have abnormalities like retraction, ulceration, and or spontaneous discharge.
Women have the greatest risk in getting breast cancer. Age is another important factor. Risk can also increased by inherited genetic, a family history of breast cancer, high breast tissue density, and high-dose radiation to the chest, usually related to other medical procedure. Reproductive factors also increase the risk: menstrual periods that start early and or end late in life, prolong use of oral contraceptives, having the first child after age 30 or never have children. If a person is overweight or obese after menopause, use of postmenopausal hormone therapy (estrogen and progestin combined), inactivity and drinking more than one alcoholic beverages per day, be extra careful because these are factors that increase breast cancer risk. Being active, maintaining a healthy body weight, breastfeeding are all associated with lowering the risk of breast cancer.
The 5-year relative survival rate for malignant cancer that has not spread to the lymph nodes or other location outside the breast has increased from 80% in the mid 1900 to 98% today. The recent 5-year survival rate is 84% for cases with cancer has spread regionally. For women with metastases cancer (spread to distant parts of the body), the 5-year survival rate is 27%.
Breast cancer screening has proved to reduce breast cancer mortality. 61% of breast cancer is diagnosed at a localized stage and the 5-year survival rate is very impressive at 98% due to timely access to high quality follow-up and treatment.
Other than genetic gene, there is a lot we can do to prevent cancer development. Maintaining a healthy and balance lifestyle including manage stress, eat right, take vitamins, stay fit and pay attention to the environment where you live and work. The air you breath and the water you drink have a lot to do with your health.