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Argumentative Essay: Routine Cancer Screening

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According to the American Cancer Society's "Cancer Facts & Figures 2017”, an estimated 600,920 people are expected to die from cancer in the United States this year. That's one person every 52 seconds. It is almost unfathomable that every 52 seconds a person dies of cancer. That shows just how great of a problem cancer really is. Though scientists have yet to find a cure for cancer, there are many different options to help prevent and treat it. For example, having routine cancer screenings. This is a topic that is extremely controversial. One one side of the debate, people say that routine cancer screenings lead to overtreatment and the treatment of problems that never would have caused any damage in the first place, while the other side says …show more content…

While some people who get genetically tested find that they have a greater chance to get cancer and go to extremes like Angelina Jolie and get those parts of their body removed, or think that they are going to die because they have a greater chance, receiving genetic testing give many people peace and then their doctors can be on alert for possible signs of cancer. First, breast cancer can be caused by genetic factors and if there is a history of breast cancer in a woman's family, then they will be more aware that they could potentially have it. An article titled “A Risk-Based Mammogram Schedule” in the Los Angeles Times claims, “ It concludes that a woman's breast density should influence the frequency with which she is screened for breast cancer, in addition to such long-recognized breast cancer risk factors as age, ethnicity, personal history of abnormal breast findings and a family history of breast cancer” (Healy). For those who have a family history of breast cancer, receiving genetic testing can help those women know if they have a greater risk of getting it. If they do, then doctors can be on the lookout for potential signs related to breast cancer and catch it earlier in stage zero rather than stage four. Another piece of evidence to support this is that with genetic testing, doctors have been able to “knock back” the death rates. According to an article in the Miami Herald, “Couple this with an increased awareness that such cancers can be genetic and it's little surprise that doctors have managed to knock back death rates” (Prater). As far as colon cancer goes, doctors have found that it can be genetically transmitted. More lives are being saved because genetic testing is providing answers for doctors. Also, receiving genetic testing can give patients comfort and help them to be at peace. As stated in the article “A Better

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