The benefits of regular cancer screening and early detection

In a previous article we have already talked about the mechanisms and manifestations of some early signs and symptoms of cancer. However, early detection means catching the enemy before seeing it, so sometimes in order to get proper treatment we have to look for cancer even though there are no apparent signs or symptoms of any disease. This being said, in the following article our friends from Genc Birikim Dernegi will tell us a few things about regular cancer screening and its early detection.

The main and most obvious benefit of early cancer detection is treatment success. Cancer is not just one illness but many, and some of these various types of cancer have a better prognosis if they are detected at a subclinical level. While regular screening for cancer can help early detection, it is important to know that these two are not the same thing. Regular cancer screening can help identify even pre-cancerous lesions or processes, while early detection can sometimes include early symptomatic stages of cancer, which are still treatable. There are three main cancers for which regular cancer screening is advised in specific age groups: cervical, breast and colorectal cancer. These are the types of cancer which evolve from pre-cancerous lesions and for which there are various efficient interventions and treatments, so detecting them can be useful.

With many countries already having extensive policies for cervical cancer screening, sometimes the solution to this problem may only mean fighting a small virus (HPV) and efficiently preventing a potential cancer. Under these circumstances, it is advisable for women after 30 to have regular screenings, especially if they are part of an at-risk population group (those with personal history with other proliferative tissues or family history of cancer). Breast cancer screening is advised for women after 50, while colorectal cancer screening should be seriously considered in both men and women after a certain age. Early detection can prevent the spread of the pathological tissue by surgical, chemical or radio therapeutical interventions. Shorter time in therapy and better quality of life are another two major benefits of regular screening. Even when there is a pathological proliferation, discovering it in due time will mean less radiation or chemical intervention in order to treat it. The financial implications are also relevant, since early detection of cancer can reduce the overall cost of the disease, both at an individual and at a social level.While thinking about the certain benefits of regular screening and early detection, it is only fair to also mention some of the risks associated with such interventions. The main risk associated with cancer screening is overdiagnosis – that is, the intervention on a begnine tissues, treatment for a form of cancer which, even if left untreated, would cause no harm on the long run. The discussions on this subject are still ongoing, but the mainstream agrees on regular screening for the three types of cancer we mentioned above.

Other smaller risks depend on the procedures used for screening, like small bruises from the intruments, or small radiation doses if we think about mammography. Compared to the burden of untreated cancer, these risks are generally considered to be much more smaller. Overall, regular cancer screening and early diagnosis for those kinds of cancer which allow it should become the norm. These days we have more interventions for certain issues, and discovering them as early as possible could be a huge benefit for their treatment.