Prevention & Screenings

Women ages 40 to 44 should have the choice to start annual breast cancer screening with mammograms if they wish to do so. The pros and cons of screening should be considered when making this decision.

Starting at age 45, women should get mammograms every year.

It’s important to know if you are at higher than average risk for breast cancer. If you are, talk to a health care provider about when you need to start getting mammograms and whether you need to get other tests along with your mammograms.

It’s also important to know how your breasts normally look and feel and to report any changes to a health care provider right away.

People with a cervix should get a primary HPV test* every 5 years. If a primary HPV test is not available in your area, then acceptable options include a co-test (an HPV test done at the same time as a Pap test) every 5 years or a Pap test alone every 3 years. (*A primary HPV test is an FDA approved test that is done by itself for screening.) The most important thing to remember is to get screened regularly, no matter which test you get.

Follow testing recommendations even if you’ve been vaccinated against HPV.

You don’t need testing after surgery that removed the cervix as long as it was done for reasons not related to cervical cancer or pre-cancer.

People with a history of a serious cervical pre-cancer should continue testing for 25 years after that diagnosis.

All people at average risk should start testing at age 45. There are several testing options. Talk with a health care provider about which tests are best for you and how often testing should be done.

If you’re younger than 45, find out if you are at higher than average risk for colon cancer because of family history, genetic disorders, or other factors. If not, then testing is not needed at this time. If you are at increased risk, talk to a health care provider about when you need to start testing and what tests are right for you.

Lung cancer screening is beneficial for many smokers and former smokers, but not for everyone. People who meet the following criteria are at the highest risk for lung cancer and may qualify for screening:

• Current smoker or former smoker who has quit within the past 15 years
• Ages 50 to 80 years
• Smoking history of at least 20 pack-years (this means one pack a day for 20 years, two packs a day for 10 years, etc.)
• Healthy enough to tolerate surgery (not on oxygen)

No recent cancer diagnosis

Starting at age 45, men at higher than average risk of prostate cancer should talk with a doctor about the uncertainties, risks, and potential benefits of testing so they can decide if they want to be tested. This includes African American men and men with close family members (father, brother, son) who had prostate cancer before age 65.

Men with more than one close relative who had prostate cancer before age 65 are at even higher risk and should talk with a doctor about testing starting at age 40.