The Reasons Women Should Consult Their Physician About Testing For Cancer
Everyone is at risk for cancer. Women specifically are at risk for certain cancers for which the technology exists to be able to diagnose the cancer early. Look at breast cancer. A physical examination of the breasts and mammograms are the methods generally used to screen women before they have any symptoms By undergoing routine screening with these 2 procedures a woman raises the odds that should she have cancer it will be found early before it spreads to stage four breast cancer.
Second there is cervical cancer. The tests generally used to screen women for cervical cancer are the Pap smear and the physical examination of the cervix. Once more screening here is used so as to diagnose the cancer before it spreads. After it spreads the chances of survival are dramatically reduced.
Third there is colon cancer. This is the sort of cancer that not just women, but men, additionally ought to get routine screening as per the guidelines. There are three separate tests that are used, in many cases in some sort of combination, to screen men and women for colon cancer. The first is the FOBT which checks the fecal samples over a period of several days for blood which would suggest the possibility of a tumor. The second test is the sigmoidoscopy by which a physician can look at the a portion of the colon. The sigmoidoscopy is frequently used together with the FOBT. Then there is the colonoscopy. This test lets the physician to examine the entire span of the colon.
When found early colon cancer can often be extracted during a colonoscopy and may not need any additional surgery or treatment. If, however, the cancer advances to the point of colon cancer metastasis or to stage four colon cancer not only is surgery often used but additional treatments such as chemotherapy become necessary. And at this point the odds of surviving the cancer are dramatically reduced.
When it comes to cancer the more time that goes by prior to diagnosis the greater the chances that one will die of the cancer. Please note though that the above is not medical advice. You ought to seek advice from your physician about screening for different types of cancers and if you should be screened.
