Are You Due For A Screening?

Prep yourself to get screened for certain cancers when you can—don’t wait for symptoms

One of the most encouraging trends that Stephen “Drew” White, MD, a medical oncologist with Summit Cancer Care, has seen over his career is a decline in patients whose late-stage cancer might have been diagnosed earlier if they had undergone a screening.

“I don’t see nearly as many neglected cancers as I saw 25 years ago,” Dr. White says. “I think screening has had an impact. It has created a paradigm shift in early detection.

Still, there are people who resist—or perhaps don’t even consider—getting screened because they are healthy and have no symptoms. But that is exactly when screenings for certain cancers can help the most—before the disease causes symptoms. Cancers found earlier are generally easier to treat.

“For many types of cancer—not all of them, but for a majority—if there is an effective screening test where the cancer can be detected earlier, the chances of it being cured are enhanced,” Dr. White says.

Time Change

One of the most effective cancer screenings in older adults is the colonoscopy for the detection of colorectal cancer. The endoscopic examination can not only find cancer, it can also detect and remove polyps, which are clumps of cells that form on the lining of the colon.

“Regular colonoscopy screenings can actually reduce the incidence of colon cancer by removing polyps before they become cancerous,” Dr. White says.

For much of the past, the recommended age for people to get their first colonoscopy was 50. Today that starting number is age 45.

“There has been a significant upsurge in cases of colorectal cancer in younger people,” Dr. White says. “So the recommendation has been lowered to 45 for the general population with average risk. But if you are at a higher-than-average risk—for example, if you have a family history of colon cancer—that changes things. You may need to be screened earlier than age 45 and more often than people with average risk.”

Improved Outcome, Better Prognosis

Other common cancers that can be detected earlier through screenings are breast and lung cancer.

“With breast cancer, you can’t prevent the development of the disease but it could be detected at an earlier stage with a mammogram,” Dr. White says. “Removal of the cancer at an earlier stage results in a better prognosis.”

The situation is similar with lung cancer screening, which is a low-dose CT scan designed for patients aged 50 or older with a long history of cigarette use.

“By finding tumors in the lungs early, this screening ultimately improves outcomes by permitting surgical resection before the cancer has grown and spread,” Dr. White says. He encourages everyone to talk with their primary care physician about their eligibility and recommended ages for screenings, including those for colon, lung and breast cancer.

Just as growing awareness of available screenings created a shift in early detection in the past couple of decades, Dr. White believes that future advances will also make a significant impact in cancer care.

“We now know that, with metastatic cancers, there is DNA circulating in the blood that could be isolated and detected,” Dr. White says. “I think in the next decade or so, it will probably become routine to do a simple blood test to detect any circulating cancer DNA. That will create another paradigm shift in the future about how screening is done.”

With a multidisciplinary approach to expert clinical care and improved patient experiences, the cancer specialists at the Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion (LCRP) at St. Joseph's/Candler are able to provide every level of the cancer care expertise that you need.

The LCRP’s lung cancer screening program was recently designated an ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology.

For information about comprehensive cancer services and physician specialists at the LCRP, call 912-819-5704 or visit sjchs.org/cancer. 

If you're a Low Country resident in or near Bluffton or Hilton Head, hear what Dr. Gary Thomas has to say about getting screened as soon as you reach the recommended age.