Health

Preventive Health Screenings You Should Not Postpone

Now is the time to take care of any screenings that you’ve put off

By Sanford Health

Have you put off a health screening because of the pandemic and not rescheduled it? Many have. Now it’s time to get back on track. The following health screenings are crucial to establishing and maintaining good health and for detecting disease at an early stage.

COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING

Colorectal cancer is 90% treatable when detected early. Screenings can also find noncancerous colon polyps or colon cancer early, when they can be easily removed or cured. Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cancer killer in America (among men and women when combined).

Patients age 45 and older should be screened every 10 years, or more often as determined by their physician. About 90 percent of people diagnosed with colon cancer are older than 50.

SANFORD HEALTH OFFERS THESE SCREENINGS:

Colonoscopy: A procedure that looks for cancerous or pre-cancerous polyps in the colon using a camera and light on a flexible tube. Patients should be screened every 10 years, or more often as determined by their physician.

FIT (Fecal Immunochemical Test): A test that helps detect bleeding in the digestive tract, which could be a sign of colorectal cancer. Patients should be screened every year. If screening comes back irregular, a colonoscopy is needed.

FIT-DNA test: A highly accurate test that checks for tumor-specific DNA changes. Patients should be screened every 3 years. If screening comes back irregular, a colonoscopy is needed.

CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING

Cervical cancer is preventable. In addition to screening, HPV vaccination is also encouraged for most patients. There’s nothing right now that can prevent ovarian cancer, but women who make some lifestyle choices can reduce their risk.

Women between ages 21 and 29 should have a Pap test every three years. Women between ages 30 and 65 should have a Pap test plus an HPV test every five years, or a Pap test alone every three years.

DISEASE-SPECIFIC SCREENING

Diabetes is a common example of a chronic disease that needs to be monitored. Are you getting your blood work? And getting your foot exams and your eyes checked on a regular basis?

Video visits can be an effective aid in many cases for diabetes and other chronic conditions like hypertension.

After an initial visit for diabetes, for instance, providers can often monitor patients without another face-to-face visit.

IMMUNIZATIONS

It’s not a screening exactly, but immunizations are a vital part of a preventive health plan, particularly for children. Postponing vaccinations could lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases should too many families put off care.

The vaccination process is often a partner with scheduled wellness visits. Without the visits, vaccines can fall behind.

“We definitely want families to come in,” said Dr. Laura Whittington, a Sanford Health pediatrician. “We want to stay up-to-date on vaccines and we want to make sure that they don’t have chronic health issues, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.”

MAMMOGRAMS

Sanford Health recommends annual mammograms starting at age 40. An annual screening can find breast cancer at its earliest and most treatable stage. Breast radiologists, certified mammographers and genetic counselors at Sanford all work with you to create a personalized prevention plan based on your genetics and risk factors.

“Your ability to decrease your risk of dying of breast cancer is directly related to having regular mammography,” Dr. Johansen said. “If you wait on that test you may be okay but your chances of breast cancer developing, and then not being detected, go up. And the longer you wait the less benefit you get for your mammography.”

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SCREENING

Isolation amid pandemic conditions can be difficult to deal with. This is in addition to added stress caused by fear about your own health brought on by the spread of the coronavirus.

These anxieties should not be ignored.

If a patient can get treatment sooner rather than later, the odds of getting into a full recovery are much higher than delayed care. n

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