How can you help patients understand cancer screening guidelines?

This is true and without any kind of universal test for cancer, it's important to listen to your body. If something is wrong or feels different, tell your doctor - be insistent and they can get you the right tests or put your mind at ease.

The concept of screening is to detect early, what we need to understand is that every life matters and it is not always the economic viability of the test that should be a parameter for determining the screening procedure . A lot of screening tests have not been found to be cost effective, when used for the general public, but they do have significance for people at a higher risk. There are several factors that are still unknown to us, that predispose to cancer, therefore comparatively increase the risk and our present knowledge of these factors is limited, which impairs our decision to subject a person to screening. Therefore, its always better to screen- on an individual basis.

Detecting cancer early is one of the central pillars of screening, while this approach can save lives, they also have risks. For instance, false positives can lead to unnecessary stress and further testing and false negatives can give a false sense of security. But the benefit with screenings for cancers like - colon, breast outweigh the risk. Diagnosing early stage cancer provides the platform for best possible clinical outcomes for the patient in terms of response to therapy (ORR), Overall (OS) and progression free survival (PFS).

As someone who's deeply invested in health and wellness, I find the concept of cancer screening to be both intriguing and pivotal in our ongoing battle against this formidable disease.

Getting in early and being diagnosed at 41 will probably save my life. My father died because he was diagnosed too late. Early detection is crucial. It is always better to know.

Detecting cancer early is one of the central pillars of screening, while this approach can save lives, they also have risks. For instance, false positives can lead to unnecessary stress and further testing and false negatives can give a false sense of security. But the benefit with screenings for cancers like - colon, breast outweigh the risk. Diagnosing early stage cancer provides the platform for best possible clinical outcomes for the patient in terms of response to therapy (ORR), Overall (OS) and progression free survival (PFS).

American Cancer Society (ACS), World Health Organization (WHO), National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and Mayo Clinic have dedicated resources and webpages to provide evidence based guidelines for cancer detection. NCCN guidelines are universally followed for detection and staging of the cancer patients.

While there is tremendous amount of data and guidelines to capture the decision making of the clinicians and treatment outcomes, it is most important to recognize that individual patient perspective is most important. Clear Communication with the patient and also actively listening to patient need and preferences towards the treatment plan can be an important factor for compliance, impacting the treatment outcomes.

Tailor the discussion to the individual- Consider the patient's age, family history, health status, cultural background, and level of anxiety regarding cancer. Acknowledge the patient's feelings and concerns about cancer and screening.Be empathetic and respectful.