Medical Minute: Doctors Stress Importance Of Early Cancer Screenings

Doctors are reminding everyone that getting an early cancer screening could save your life.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 40 percent of Americans will develop a form of cancer at some point in their lifetime. Doctors say following screening guidelines could mean finding it early or preventing it altogether.

“Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer for men and women," a doctor said.

In 2024, lung cancer is expected to account for 20 percent of cancer deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute, but screening rates are extremely low.

“Less than 10 percent of those people who are eligible under the guidelines have come for screening in the U.S.”

Yearly screening with a low-dose CT scan is recommended for people who are at least 50, smoke or used to smoke, and have a 20 pack-year history of smoking. Doctors say this is a crucial step in catching it early.

“There are no symptoms of early lung cancer because there are no pain fibers in the lung.”

Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer. For people of average risk, screening is recommended to begin at age 45.

“It is something that is potentially preventable, and it’s one of the only cancers that we can say that.”

A majority of cases start from a non-cancerous polyp. Doctors can spot these during a colonoscopy.

“We find these polyps and we take them out, and we’ve eliminated that risk of that polyp becoming a cancer.”

Doctors say getting screened could make all the difference in the treatment and the outcome.

“We can save your life.”

In April, the United States Preventative Services Task Force released new guidelines for breast cancer screening. It now recommends mammograms every other year, starting at age 40. But the American Cancer Society recommends screening every year starting at age 45, with an option to start at age 40.