If you’re an average health-conscious person over 40 years old, regular cancer screenings are likely to be a part of your healthcare regimen. The cancer industry heavily promotes the use of regular mammograms, pap smears, colonoscopies and even full-body CT scans as ways to “prevent” cancer.
But exactly how effective are these procedures? A recent analysis of the statistics on breast cancer screenings by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force cast considerable doubt on this long-standing recommendation.
The Critical Difference Between Cancer Prevention and Cancer Management
Truth is, the statistics show that cancer screenings have not done anything to prevent the incidence of cancer. Their only benefit is to detect the disease in its early stages, when it might be easier to treat.
1. The Overwhelming Majority of Patients Who Are Screened Receive No Benefit. That’s because, despite all the alarming statistics you hear about, most people will not get cancer.
Statistics show that undergoing regular breast cancer screening starting at age 40 only decreases a woman’s risk of dying from cancer by 0.05 percent – that’s 1 in 2000. It increases to 0.2 percent for women in their 50’s – that’s 1 in 500. This might still be considered worthwhile, if there were no downsides – but there are plenty.
2. The Most Deadly Cancers Often Are Missed. The most common reason that cancers are missed in regular screenings is due to the nature of cancer itself. The deadliest cancers grow very rapidly. Screening can detect slow-growing cancers in their early stages, but an aggressive cancer could develop just months after screening and be too far advanced by the time you get another screening.
3. False Positives Lead to Unnecessary Treatments. The most common drawback to cancer screenings are false positives – when you’re told that your test is inconclusive and can’t be verified. False positives lead to further procedures such as ultrasounds, CT scans, colonoscopies and even biopsies, which are far more invasive and could possibly even promote the spread of cancer.
Unfortunately, false positive rates are high. If you repeat this screening test every year for 10 years, your cumulative risk of having at least one false positive goes up to 50 percent, increasing your odds of further procedures, their risks and additional costs.
In addition, false positives are more common in lower-risk, younger women (this is true for all screening tests and diseases, not just breast cancer and mammography). So the potential risks at age 40 are higher, with no real added benefit.
4. Cancer Screening (and Other Medical Procedures) May Actually CAUSE Cancer. A recent study found that as many as two-thirds of adults underwent a medical test in the last few years that exposed them to radiation and in some cases, a potentially higher risk of cancer.
Some doctors are concerned that advanced tests that expose the patient to ionizing radiation, such as CT scans, are being over-prescribed. Doctors use them to get detailed views of the brain, chest, abdomen and pelvis. Some 80 million CT scans are performed annually.
Should You Get Tested for Cancer?
There’s no clear consensus among the experts. Cancer is certainly scary and the treatments for it are as just as bad. If you have symptoms of cancer, by all means see a doctor and discuss appropriate testing.
Otherwise, do some homework and make your own educated decision. If your doctor recommends a cancer screening test, don’t just go along with his recommendation. Doctors sometimes suggest these tests for the wrong reasons: fears of malpractice, financial incentives, and even patient demand.
How Can You Actually Prevent Cancer?
Cancer is a disease that is mostly preventable – simply by following good nutritional practices and a healthy lifestyle. A diet high in antioxidants, especially one supplemented with known anti-cancer nutrients such as vitamin D, beta carotene, lycopene, quercetin and selenium, and foods such as broccoli, garlic, green tea and others, can virtually eliminate your risk of contracting cancer, even if you have inherited genetic traits that predispose you to that disease.
For further reading on cancer screenings and cancer prevention: http://www.antioxidants-for-health-and-longevity.com/cancer-screenings.html
Stan Mrak has had a passion for nutrition for more than 30 years, ever since he picked up a book by Richard Passwater and discovered the world of preventive health. He has investigated many aspects of nutrition over those years, and shares more of his knowledge from his website at http://www.antioxidants-for-health-and-longevity.com. Please visit and learn much more about antioxidants and easy ways to get more of them into your diet.