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Age 17+
At age 17 a female should begin to examine herself for breast cancer and skin cancer. This can be done by simply looking yourself over and making sure there are no present lumps on your breasts or anywhere on your skin. This self examination should continue to be done for the rest of the female's life, and should occur pretty regularly. -
Age 21+
-A female should begin having screening for cervical cancer at the age of 21. This screening should consist of a Pap Test and be conducted every 3 years. A Pap test is a procedure done to collect cells from the cervix so they can be looked at under the microscope and screened for any cancer or pre-cancerous cells.
- continue self examination for breast cancer -
Age 30+
- Starting at age 30, women should get an HPV test along with the Pap test every 5 years, which tests for cervical cancer. Even if a woman has received a vaccine for HPV, testing should still be done. HPV Test is done by collecting cell samples from the cervix and analyzing them under the microscope to check if any cancerous cells are present .
- continue elf examination for Breast Cancer
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Age 40+
- At this age range women should begin being screened by their OB for breast cancer. This screening involves a mammogram, and once the testing begins, it should be continued once every year. A mammogram is where a low energy x-ray is taken of the breasts, and looks to see if there is any abnormal regions within the breast such as calcification or masses. It provides additional reassurance that there is no cancer in the breasts, beyond just a self examination that looks for lumps.
- breast exam
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Period: to
Age 50+
Colon cancer screening should begin at age 50. To test for this a scope can be inserted into the rectum, or feces can be looked at for signs of cancer. Polyps are removed, which eliminates the chance of the cancer growing on them and thus getting into the colon. This should then be done every 10 years if at average risk.
- Breast cancer and cervical cancer should continue as mentioned previously -
Age 55+
Lung cancer testing should begin should begin at this age. A low dose CT scan can be conducted which will detect small lesions if present, also if a person coughs and sputum comes out, the sputum can be put under a microscope and analyzed for cancer. This testing should be done more frquently if you are at a high risk, but if at average risk, should be done every couple years. -
Age 60+
- continue mammogram testing every 2 years for Breast Cancer
- no cervical testing is done if normal results have been shown for the last 10 years
- colon testing should continue every 10 years
- lung cancer should be screened for every 4 to 5 years