Do You Need To Be Tested For Cancer?

“Most people go to Dr. Google for diagnosis. In terms of screening and prevention, there aren’t many online resources at the moment,” says Dr. Melvin Look.

- Dr. Melvin Look

“People don’t perform a DIY screening because it is difficult to do. Screening means conducting tests for common and significant medical issues even though there are no symptoms, and without symptoms, they have nothing to start with for self-screening.

“When a person comes for traditional health screening, they undergo a thorough clinical examination and may be recommended to have further tests. The basic health screening picks up common problems that a person might have, and these are used to treat a medical condition or prevent it from getting worse.”

Cancer screening must be even more complex and difficult to perform.

Cancer screening consists of tests that can pick up early symptoms of cancer or pre-cancer. This can include mammogram to detect breast cancer in women after a certain age, pap smear and gynecological tests for cervical cancer, and colonoscopy for colorectal cancer. We recommend coloscopy to be done every five years when a person reaches the age of 45.

Colorectal cancer in younger people is on the rise. In the past, regular colonoscopy was recommended for people 50 years and above, but last year, the American Cancer Society began recommending regular screening to start at 45. Local statistics also support this, that cancer is increasingly detected among younger patients.

There is also a screening for cancer marker for prostate cancer.

What are cancer markers?