Making healthy choices and being screened for cancer are keys to good health
and could help reduce your risk of developing cancer and other illnesses.
Prevention
Your overall health, including risk of cancer and other diseases, is affected
by what you eat, how much you exercise, and other habits.
Stop Smoking
Studies show that just 20 minutes after a smoker kicks the habit, both
heart rate and blood pressure drop. And within 5 years, the risk of getting
cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder is cut in half. Click
here (link to smoking cessation page under Health & Wellness) for
valuable tools that will help you successfully fight the urge to smoke.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight decreases your risk for developing several
types of cancer. The best way to manage your weight is to make healthy
food choices and incorporate exercise into your weekly routine. Health
benefits increase when you lose even a small amount of weight. If you
need help, our Health & Wellness Center (link to Health & Wellness
service page) can work with you to create a plan that works best for you.
Stay Physically Active
Staying physically active helps keep the body healthy. Adults should be
active for at least 150 minutes each week, and children should be active
for at least one hour per day.
Make Healthy Food Choices
Eating at least 2.5 cups of fruits and vegetables daily gives your body
antioxidants, vitamins, fiber and minerals, and can also help with weight
control. When making healthy food choices, whole grain is better than
processed, or refined, grains, and lean meats are healthier than processed
and red meat.
Limit Alcohol Consumption
Limiting alcohol consumption can help your overall health and in reducing
your risk for cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends a maximum
of 2 drinks per day for men, and 1 drink per day for women.
Detection
Early detection, or screening, is especially important if you have a family
history of cancer and if you are prone to certain types of cancers. Finding
cancer as early as possible helps doctors treat the disease before it
can spread, and while it is still small.
Screenings include:
Your doctor giving you a physical exam
Your doctor asking about and becoming familiar with your family medical history
Having lab work done to see if there are issues in your body
Having imaging procedures, such as X-rays, taken
Undergoing genetic testing to find any changes in your genes that may be
linked to cancer
Certain screenings have been proven to reduce deaths from cancer and are
recommended for certain demographics.
Important Screenings & Exams
Your doctor can use screenings to detect certain cancers, even when you
don’t have symptoms. Finding cancer in early stages helps your healthcare
team treat the disease before it spreads and grows.
Certain screenings are recommended depending on age, gender and family
history. Please talk to your doctor if you have a family history of cancer.
If you do not have a family history of cancer, standard recommendations are:
Breast Cancer
At any age, women should be familiar with the normal look and feel of their
breasts. If you see any changes, talk to your doctor immediately.
Talk to you doctor about whether your risk for breast cancer is higher
than average, and if it is, discuss your plan for when you should start
getting mammograms and other possible tests.
At age 40, women should start having annual mammograms.
At age 55, women are recommended to get mammograms every 2 years, or annually
if you choose.
Cervical Cancer
If you have a history of a serious cervical pre-cancer, you should continue
cervical cancer testing for 20 years after the initial diagnosis.
Women age 21-29 should have a Pap smear and HPV test every 3 years.
At age 30, women should get a Pap smear and HPV test every 5 years or continue
to get a Pap smear every 3 years.
Women who have had a hysterectomy unrelated to cervical cancer do not need
to be tested.
Colon Cancer
Beginning at age 45, all men and women should be screened for colon cancer.
Talk to your doctor about which type of test you should have, and how
often you should have it.
Lung Cancer
Men and women who are 50 or older should discuss smoking history and early
lung cancer screenings with your doctor. If you currently smoke or quit
smoking in the past 20 years and do not have signs of lung cancer, a lung
cancer screening could help you. All insurances do not cover this screening,
so you should also find out how much the test will cost.
Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate
cancers combined.
But, a
report earlier this year by the American Cancer Society attributed the nation’s
largest one-year drop in cancer mortality – a 2.2% decline from
2016 to 2017 – to a reduction in deaths from lung cancer.
For lung cancer, the decline is due in part to increased screening for
those at high risk
The screening for lung cancer is a low-dose CT scan, which can recognize
tiny nodules that would otherwise go undetected -- there long before the
patient has any symptoms. It also creates less exposure to radiation than
a traditional CT scan
For patients who meet certain criteria, like age and smoking habits, their
primary care physician may recommend an annual low-dose CT scan. The goal
is to be proactive, flagging patients who are most at risk to get screened
Eligible patients include those between 50-77 who have a significant smoking history
A significant smoking history means smoking the equivalent of one pack
of cigarettes per day for 20 or more years
This can be either currently or in the recent past, even if they have quit
smoking within past 15 years
Patients with symptoms such as coughing up of blood or weight loss should
see their physician first, before enrolling in a lung cancer screening program
Prostate Cancer
If you had more than one close relative who had prostate cancer before
age 65, talk to your doctor at age 40 about the uncertainties, risks,
and potential benefits of getting screened.
If you are a man age 45 or older and are at higher than average risk of
prostate cancer, talk to your doctor about screening. Men at higher than
average risk are defined as those with a father, brother or son who had
prostate cancer before age 65 and African American men.
All men should talk to their doctor at age 50 about potential risks and
benefits of prostate cancer screening.
Skin Cancer
Certain physical features can be a risk factor such as a lighter natural
skin color or skin that burns, freckles, reddens easily, or becomes painful
in the sun; blue or green eyes; blonde or red hair; or having certain
types and a large number of moles. Other risk factors can include family
or personal history of skin cancer, exposure to the sun through work and
play, a history of sunburns, especially early in life, or a history of
indoor tanning.
Adult men and women should examine skin regularly and see a doctor to evaluate
new growths or changes in existing growths.
To examine your skin for changes, check for the five most common features
in a potentially abnormal spot: asymmetry, border, color, diameter and
evolution (often called the ABCDEs of melanoma.)
A- If a spot is asymmetrical, then one half of the spot does not match
the other.
B - Check the border to see if the edges are irregular, ragged, notched
or blurred.
C - If color is not the same all over and may include different shades
of brown or black, or sometimes with patches of pink, red, white, or blue,
then it may be an abnormal spot.
D - Check the diameter to see if the spot is larger than 6 millimeters
across (about ¼ inch – the size of a pencil eraser), although
melanomas can sometimes be smaller than this.
E- A spot is evolving if it changing in size, shape, or color. If you notice
these changes on your skin, please talk to your doctor.
Your family history is an important factor in your risk for cancer. If
you or someone in your immediate family has had cancer, you may consider
genetic screening.
Genetic screening is a personal choice that can help inform you as you
make choices about your and your family’s health.
During genetic screening, a geneticist investigates your probability of
developing cancer by closely examining your personal and family history
and reviewing a specialized blood test.
If you have one or more of these personal or family history characteristics,
you should talk to your doctor about genetic screening:
Breast cancer before age 50
Bilateral breast cancer or two primary breast cancers
Two or more breast and/or ovarian cancers in the family
Male breast cancer
Jewish ancestry and family history of breast or ovarian cancer
Colorectal cancer before age 50
Endometrial cancer before age 50
A history of 20 or more non-cancerous colon polyps
Two or more related cancers
Breast/Ovarian
Pancreatic/Melanoma
Colon/endometrial (if these cancers occur in addition to ovarian, other
GI, liver, or renal cancers, Lynch Syndrome should be considered)
A known cancer gene mutation in the family
Scientists have only discovered a handful of cancer genes and it is possible
that a genetic change exists in your family that cannot be detected by
current testing methods. It is also possible that even with a family history
of cancer, you may not have inherited that specific gene change. If no
genetic change is found, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will
live cancer-free. Likewise, if you are found to have a genetic change,
it is possible that you may not develop cancer.
If you do learn you are genetically at risk for cancer, your geneticist
will help you understand and address your particular level of risk for
cancer, and will work with you to determine how you might use your test
results to make future decisions for you and your family, such as preventative
lifestyle changes, early detection methods or pretreatment options.
Genetic testing may be covered by some insurances; however, Louisiana law
restricts the use of genetic information by insurers and employers and
prohibits discrimination based on the results.
To make an appointment with our certified geneticist, call
(225) 237-1600.
