Cancer Care

Women of average breast cancer risk should start screening mammography at age 40. In addition to annual mammogram screenings, it is recommended you:

• Get a clinical breast exam (CBE) as part of your annual well woman exam.
• Be familiar with how your breasts normally look and feel. Report changes to your provider.

Women that are at high risk for developing breast cancer should start screening mammography at age 30, and should also undergo supplemental breast MRI screening. You are considered to be at high-risk for breast cancer if you:

• Have a lifetime risk of breast cancer 20-25% or greater.
• Are BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation positive.
• Have a parent, brother or sister with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation.
• Had radiation therapy to the chest between the ages of 10 and 30 years.
• Have Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, Cowden Syndrome, or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba Syndrome, or have a first degree relative with one of these syndromes.

Nearly all cervical cancer is caused by a human papilloma virus, or HPV. The virus is sexually transmitted and so common that most sexually active adults have or have had an HPV infection at some point in their lives.

Everyone with a cervix should get screened. Guidelines for cervical cancer screenings vary by age:

• For women 21-29 years or age it is recommend to get a Pap test every three years.
• For women 30-65 years or age it is recommended you get a combined Pap/HPV co-testing (or HPV alone) every three to five years.
• For women 65 or older it is usually recommend women to stop getting tested, though individual factors could change the recommended schedule. Talk to your doctor.

Adults of average risk for developing colorectal cancer risk should start screening at age 45. Based on your family and health history, our doctor will recommend one or more types of screening tests:

• Highly sensitive stool-based test, also known as a FIT test, every year.
• Colonoscopy every 10 years.
• CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every five years.
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years.
• Double-contrast barium enema every five years.

Adults who are high risk should start screening earlier than age 45. You could be at high risk for developing colorectal cancer if you have:

• Personal history of colorectal cancer or adenomatous polyps.
• Personal history of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis).
• Strong family history of colorectal cancer or polyps.
• Family history of hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes.
• Personal history of radiation to the abdomen or pelvic area prior.

There is not a standard, annual screening test for endometrial cancer. Instead providers look for symptoms like abnormal vaginal bleeding (especially in menopausal women) and use imaging and biopsies to test for cancer when symptoms arise.

If you are at a high risk for hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC), annual screenings should be done for endometrial cancer with an endometrial biopsy beginning at age 35.

Caught early, lung cancer is highly treatable. But since there are no symptoms, in many cases it’s not discovered until the cancer has become dangerous. Until recently, there wasn’t a screening tool for people who: currently smoke, used to smoke, were exposed to secondhand smoke, or were exposed to environmental factors such as heavy metals or radon in the home.

Lung cancer screenings involve computed tomography imaging (CT scan) which provides a detailed image of your lungs. The scan only takes a few minutes and is painless.

People who are between 50 - 80 years old should get screened for lung cancer if they:

• Have/had a 20-pack-year tobacco smoking history
• Currently smoke or have quit in the last 15 years

Speak with your primary care provider if you are concerned about your risk of developing lung cancer.

• All men who are of average risk for developing cancer should get prostate cancer screenings starting around the age of 50.
• Men who are at high risk of developing cancer (black men and men with a family history of prostate cancer) should begin getting screenings at the age of 45.
• Men who are at very high risk of developing cancer (multiple relatives have had prostate cancer) should potentially start screenings at the age of 40.