Reminders
Screening Recommendations By Age
The choices you make about diet, exercise, and other habits can affect your overall health as well as your risk for developing cancer and other serious diseases. It’s also important to follow recommendations for cancer screening tests. Screening tests are used to find cancer in people who have no symptoms. Screening gives you the best chance of finding cancer as early as possible – while it’s small and before it has spread.
The tabs below provide information on healthy lifestyle choices that can help lower your cancer risk, and cancer screening test recommendations by age and gender.
50-65
At this age, a cancer-related check-up should be part of your periodic health exams and might include exams for cancers of the thyroid, mouth, skin, lymph nodes, testicles, and ovaries. A check-up should also include discussion of tobacco use, sun exposure, diet and nutrition, disease risk factors, sexual practices, and whether you are exposed to any dangerous substances at work or at home.
These special tests for certain cancers are recommended for your age and gender:
MEN
Colon Cancer Testing
All men at average risk should start testing at age 50. There are several testing options. Talk with a healthcare professional about which tests are best for you and how often testing should be done.
Prostate Cancer Testing
Starting at age 50, all men at average risk should talk with a doctor about the uncertainties, risks, and potential benefits of testing so they can decide if they want to be tested.
Lung Cancer Testing
If you are age 55 or older, talk to a doctor about your smoking history and whether you should get a low-dose CT scan to screen for early lung cancer. Screening may benefit if you are an active or former smoker (quit within the past 15 years), are between the ages of 55 and 74, have no signs of lung cancer, and have a 30 pack-year smoking history. (A pack-year is 1 pack of cigarettes per day per year. One pack per day for 30 years or 2 packs per day for 15 years would both be 30 pack-years.) You should discuss the benefits, limitations, risks, and potential costs of screening with a doctor before testing is done.
WOMEN
Breast Cancer Testing
A clinical breast exam should be done by a doctor or nurse every year. Report any changes in the way your breasts look or feel to a doctor or nurse right away.
Get a mammogram every year. If you are at higher risk for breast cancer than most women, talk to a healthcare professional to find out if you need other tests done with your mammograms.
Cervical Cancer Testing
Have a Pap test and HPV test every 5 years (preferred approach) or Pap test alone every 3 years.
Follow testing recommendations even if you have been vaccinated against HPV.
No testing is needed after a hysterectomy that removed the uterus and cervix if it was done for reasons not related to cervical cancer.
Colon Cancer Testing
All women at average risk should start testing at age 50. There are several testing options. Talk with a healthcare professional about which tests are best for you and how often testing should be done.
Lung Cancer Testing
If you are age 55 or older, talk to a doctor about your smoking history and whether you should get a low-dose CT scan to screen for early lung cancer. Screening may benefit if you are an active or former smoker (quit within the past 15 years), are between the ages of 55 and 74, have no signs of lung cancer, and have a 30 pack-year smoking history. (A pack-year is 1 pack of cigarettes per day per year. One pack per day for 30 years or 2 packs per day for 15 years would both be 30 pack-years.) You should discuss the benefits, limitations, risks, and potential costs of screening with a doctor before testing is done.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CHOICES FOR MEN AND WOMEN
Stay away from tobacco.
There is no safe form of tobacco. If you smoke or chew tobacco, stop! Encourage the people around you to quit. Call us at 1-800-227-2345 for help, or see our Guide to Quitting Smoking or our Guide to Quitting Smokeless Tobacco to learn more about quitting.
Get to and stay at a healthy weight.
Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for many types of cancer. You can control your weight with the choices you make about healthy eating and exercise:
- Avoiding excessive weight gain throughout life
- Balance the calories you take in with the amount of physical activity you do
If you are overweight, try to get to a healthy weight and stay there. Losing even a small amount of weight has health benefits and is a good place to start. Watching your portion sizes is an important part of weight control – especially for foods high in fat and sugar. Low-fat and fat-free doesn’t always mean low-calorie, so read labels and try to eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in the place of higher-calorie foods.
Get moving.
Adults: Get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week (or a combination of these), preferably spread throughout the week.
Children and adolescents: Get at least 1 hour of moderate- or vigorous-intensity activity each day, with vigorous activity on at least 3 days each week.
Moderate intensity activities are those that require effort equal to a brisk walk. Vigorous intensity activities generally use large muscle groups and result in a faster heart rate, deeper and faster breathing, and sweating.
Don’t be a couch potato - limit the amount of time you spend sitting.
Doing some physical activity above usual activities, no matter what one’s level of activity, can have many health benefits.
Eat healthy.
Eat at least 2 ½ cups of vegetables and fruits each day. They contain many vitamins and minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and other good-for-you substances. Because they are generally low in fat and calories, they may also help you stay at a healthy weight, which helps reduce your risk of cancer.
Choose whole-grain bread, pasta, and cereal instead of processed (refined) grains. Look for whole wheat, pumpernickel, rye, or oats as the first ingredient on the food label.
Limit the amount of processed meats you eat (like cold cuts, bacon, and hot dogs), and your intake of red meats, such as beef, pork, and lamb. If you eat red meat, try lean meats and smaller portions. Also try skinless poultry, fish, or legumes (peas and beans) as healthier sources of protein.
Limit how much alcohol you drink
Men should have no more than 2 drinks per day, and women should have no more than 1 drink per day. A drink is 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1 ½ ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.
See our guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention for more on this.
http://www.cancer.org/healthy/toolsandcalculators/reminders/screening-recommendations-by-age
