6 types of cancer screening tests you should do

Annual cancer screening tests can help you prevent and diagnose various cancers at an early stage.

When you're perfectly healthy at 40, you may not see the need for regular checkups. But every year when you blow out the candles and cut the cake, you should give yourself the gift of cancer screening.

Why? Because annual cancer screening tests can help you prevent and diagnose various cancers at an early stage.

Dr. Rishma Dhillon Pai reveals in her book “Healthy at 40” that the symptoms of most diseases are often not obvious or ignored until they develop into diseases. The only way to prevent them is to get a health checkup every year.

If your family has a history of cancer, cancer screening is something you should do regularly every year when you turn 40 and every 2 years when you turn 30.

Some basic tests you should have before age 40 include:

1. Pap smear/HPV test

This test helps diagnose cervical cancer early. Women over 21 years of age (especially those identified as high risk) should have a Pap smear to check for HPV. If the test is negative, you should be retested every 3 years before age 40 and every year after age 40.

2. Mammography

It is used to detect breast cancer, all women should have this test every year after the age of 40. Because the risk of breast cancer increases with age, early diagnosis helps doctors have appropriate treatment plans for this cancer.

3. Colonoscopy

This test can detect bowel cancer even before symptoms appear and in up to 90% of cases, early detection can cure it. So get a colonoscopy before you turn 40. If your brother or sister or father was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 45, you should be tested at 35 (10 years before they were diagnosed).

4. CA-125 index test

High levels of cancer antigen 125 in your blood are a sign of a growing tumor when you have ovarian cancer. If you get tested early, you have a better chance of controlling your cancer risk, especially for breast cancer – the most common cancer in women.

5. Prolactin hormone test

High levels of prolactin in the blood indicate health problems such as infertility, liver disease and thyroid disease, so annual testing is important for women under 40.

6. Abdominal and pelvic ultrasound

In most cases women ignore the symptoms of stomach pain and pain in the pelvic area. However, performing an ultrasound of the abdomen or pelvis can help detect cancer in its early stages.

According to giadinh.net