Cancer screening is a critical part of preventive health care. When you catch cancer early, it’s much easier to treat and resolve. Total Health Primary Care, PLLC, offers cancer screenings at its office in Selma, Texas. Call today to schedule an appointment and learn if you’re due for a mammogram, prostate exam, or colonoscopy. Alternatively, use the online tool to book online.
Cancer Screening Q & A
What is cancer screening?
Cancer describes a deadly condition in which abnormal cells grow out of control in an organ or tissue. While there are several types of cancer, as a whole, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world.
Cancer screenings are a tool the providers at Total Health Primary Care, PLLC, use to find cancer in its earliest stages. Early detection improves your chance of achieving a full recovery and having minimal long-term complications.
At Total Health Primary Care, PLLC, you receive guidelines and referrals for breast cancer and colorectal screenings. In-office, the practitioners perform Pap smears for cervical cancer screening and prostate testing.
The providers can also do comprehensive skin checks to look for signs of skin cancer, the most common form of cancer.
When do I need colorectal cancer screening?
Colonoscopies are the gold standard way to detect polyps, small growths on your colon that have the potential to turn cancerous.
For most healthy adults, the recommendation is to start colon cancer screening at age 45-50 and then get a colonoscopy every 10 years after that. If you have a family or personal history of the disease or suspicious polyps at a previous exam, you may benefit from more frequent screenings.
What is a cervical cancer screening?
Cervical cancer screening includes a Pap smear and a human papillomavirus (HPV) test.
During a Pap smear, your provider gently swabs a collection of cells from your cervix. It usually happens during a routine well-woman exam. These cells are then sent to a lab and examined by a pathologist who looks for abnormalities.
The HPV test also requires a collection of cells from your cervix. However, the lab’s pathologist examines the cells to look for strains of HPV that may increase your risk of cervical cancer.
What does breast cancer screening involve?
Breast cancer screenings occur at routine well-woman visits. Your provider feels your breast tissue, looking for lumps or other irregularities that could indicate breast cancer.
Your provider also recommends you get regular mammograms beginning at age 40. This X-ray finds abnormalities in your breast tissue. If you have a family history of the disease or a previous breast cancer diagnosis, you benefit from earlier and more frequent mammograms.
What is a prostate cancer screening?
Whether or not you undergo periodic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer is a decision made between you and your provider. If you decide this blood test is right for you, it’s recommended you start at age 55.
Younger men may need PSA screening if they have a direct family history of prostate cancer or are an ethnicity at higher risk of developing aggressive forms of the disease.
To get the cancer screenings you need, call Total Health Primary Care, PLLC, or use the online tool to book an appointment.