Cancer screening involves doing tests to detect cancer at early stage (sometimes even before signs and symptoms develop). Detecting cancer at early stage may have a better treatment outcome and 5-year survival rate. Regular cancer screenings are encouraged to reduce your cancer risk especially if you have a cancer gene or a family history of certain types of cancer. The incidence of cancer increases with age and as such, it is recommended to have Screening Tests as we get older (usually after 40 years of age). Breast cancer affects around 1 in 8 women, cervical cancer affects around 1 in 10,000 women, colon cancer affects around 1 in 25 people, lung cancer affects around 1 in 17 people and prostate cancer affects around 1 in 350 men (but this incidence increases with the man’s age).

Types of Screening Tests

Each Screening tests is cancer-specific. These are some examples of screening tests for each type of cancer

1. Breast cancer

• Mammogram
• Breast Ultrasound

2. Cervical cancer

• PAP smear / test
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) test

3. Colorectal cancer

• Faecal occult blood test (FOBT)
• Colonoscopy

4. Lung cancer

• Low-dose Computed Tomography (CT) scan
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan

5. Prostate cancer

• Digital rectal examination (DRE)
• Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test

Discuss with your doctor about your screening plan based on your Cancer Risk Factors

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