What is a cancer screening?
Dr. Khan and her medical team use various diagnostic tests to screen for cancer that can detect the disease in an early stage, before it spreads or causes potentially life-threatening problems. During cancer screening, your provider might use diagnostic imaging tests or take a tissue biopsy so a lab can analyze it.
What are the risk factors for cancer?
Anybody can develop cancer, but the following factors may increase your risk of getting it:
- Family or personal history of cancer
- Older age
- Chronic inflammation
- Obesity
- Poor dietary habits
- Physical inactivity
- Heavy alcohol use
- Smoking
- Excessive sun exposure
- Unprotected sexual intercourse
- Hormones
- Radiation exposure
Exposure to infectious agents, toxins, and other cancer-related substances also increases your risk of developing cancer.
Which cancers can my provider screen for?
Depending on your symptoms, lifestyle, and risk factors, Dr. Khan and your Millennium Park Medical Associates provider might recommend cancer screenings for:
Breast cancer
Breast cancer screening includes a breast exam or a mammogram, which uses X-ray technology to detect breast cancer masses.
Cervical cancer
Your provider completes a pelvic exam with a Pap test in women to screen for signs of cervical cancer. They insert special tools into your vagina to scrape cervical cells for a lab to analyze.
Prostate cancer
During prostate cancer screening, your provider might recommend a digital rectal exam or a special type of blood test.
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer screening at Millennium Park Medical Associates might include a stool test, colonoscopy, capsule endoscopy, or sigmoidoscopy.
Lung cancer
If you have a history of smoking and are at risk of lung cancer, your internal medicine specialist might suggest lung cancer screening using CT scans.
Skin cancer
During skin cancer screening, your provider examines your skin and may take a tissue biopsy so a lab can analyze it.
How is cancer treated?
If cancer screening detects cancer, your Millennium Park Medical Associates specialist might refer you to a cancer specialist. Cancer treatments may include:
- Removing cancerous tissue with surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation therapy
- Immunotherapy
- Cryoablation
- Radiofrequency ablation
- A bone marrow transplant
- Hormone therapy
- Targeted drug therapy
Your provider works with your cancer specialist to develop a treatment plan that’s right for you, and follows up with you before, during, and after treatment.
Don’t let cancer go undetected before it spreads to other areas of your body or becomes life-threatening. Schedule cancer screening at Millennium Park Medical Associates by phone or online today.
