Get a screen, save a life
Good morning!
I hope everyone remembers, in the hustle and bustle of school resuming and fall impending, the importance of practicing self-care. If you don’t take care of yourself, it’s hard to take care of your loved ones or possibly even effectively handle your daily work activities.
Part of that self-care is something that people might find inconvenient or a little scary: screenings for cancer. Many screenings took a back seat during the pandemic, when some of those eligible delayed screenings due to pandemic related concerns and restrictions.
It’s time to get back on schedule for the screenings that often save or prolong a life. There’s even another urgency: the Kaiser Family Foundation on Sept. 8 cited a study that shows early onset cancer diagnoses are rising worldwide for those under age 50, and that the risks might increase with every generation.
The American Cancer Society and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend:
All men should discuss prostate cancer screening with a doctor beginning at age 50. But for African American men, it’s recommended they discuss prostate cancer screening with a doctor beginning at age 45.
Current or former smokers should discuss lung cancer screening with a doctor beginning at age 50.
The rate of cancer deaths in Mississippi is sobering and scarier than even the most uncomfortable of screenings.
The American Cancer Society says this year, the estimated number of new cases of cancer in Mississippi is 18,250; the estimated deaths, 6,790.
By cancer type, latest statistics show prostate is the Mississippi leader in estimated new cases with 2,970 cases, followed respectively by lung and bronchus, breast, colorectal, kidney and renal, and melanoma of the skin.
Estimated deaths for 2022 aren’t in that order: lung and bronchus, 1,820, followed by colorectal, pancreas, breast, prostate, and liver and intrahepatic bile duct.
You’d rather be able to say, “Thank goodness. My cancer was discovered early,” than “If only I’d gotten a mammogram. My cancer would have been so much more treatable.”
On August 20, UMMC’s Cancer Center and Research Institute partnered with the College of American Pathologists Foundation to offer See, Test and Treat, a breast and cervical cancer screening event for local women who are uninsured or underinsured. Even if a cancer wasn’t found, these women gained something valuable that day: peace of mind.
So, take care of yourself. Follow the recommendations of your providers on which tests you need and a screening schedule. The ACS says it’s a good idea to talk about risk factors such as lifestyle behaviors and family history that could put you at higher risk and affect when or how often you should be screened.
Make those appointments. Do it as if your life depends on it. A Healthier Mississippi can begin with you.