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TinaF
Regular
Joined: 11 Jun 2009
Posts: 15
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 Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 3:16 pm Post subject: Early detection? |
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| What exactly does early detection mean? Don't people need to feel and see symptoms before they know anything is wrong? And if you're seeing and feeling symptoms, doesn't that mean the cancer is already at an advanced stage? |
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brainman
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Oct 2005
Posts: 5617
Location: Tennessee
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 7:55 pm Post subject: Re: Early detection? |
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The term "early detection" means different things for different cancers. With some cancers, although not all, there are screening tests that can be done. For example: PSA for Prostate Cancer and Mammograms for Breast Cancers. Often, these test show the presence or possible presence of cancer long before there are any other symptoms. The earlier we can detect the cancer, the better off we are since there is a higher probability that the cancer has not spread yet.
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Jim
Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendroglioma grade 3, same location.
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=2405
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=2528
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 3: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Twitter: @JimHawkins54 |
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TinaF
Regular
Joined: 11 Jun 2009
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 2:17 pm Post subject: Re: Early detection? |
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Thanks for your reply.
I'm seeing a lot of ads about prostate, breast, and skin cancer. Hopefully sometime soon there will be yearly check-ups available for all the other cancers aswell. |
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Karieileen
New User
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:41 pm Post subject: Early Detection |
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I wanted to expand on what was said before. Early detection can mean Mammograms and PSA exams, which can sometimes find cancer signs before tumors really develop, but it also means finding the cancer early on, even after symptoms have started. No, just because you exibit symptoms does not mean that the cancer is in an advanced stage. Some cancers are caught in stage I and II, which are not as advanced as stage III and IV. Stage I and II cancers generally have a much higher survival rate.
And, about what you said about yearly check-ups...we already have them. Your yearly doctor's exam already helps with this. Doctors feel your neck to check for enlarged lymph nodes. They feel your abdomen to check for swelling. The only thing that isn't regularly done is bloodwork, which I think should be implemented. But, there's no way to have scans and such for all types of cancers. Sometimes the only way to detect cancers is with full body CT or PET scans, and exposing people to that amount of radiation for yearly checkups is not healthy; it can, in fact, cause cancer. This is why there are only yearly checkups for types of cancers that can be checked without this level of exposure. Thankfully the tests available now test for some of the most common types of cancer, which is the best anyone can hope for.
The best thing to do for your health is to get your yearly checkup and to talk to your doctor if you feel strange in any way.
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Kari Eileen -- Stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor and representative of maddoxoncology.com |
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