Essay about The Pros and Cons of Health Screening

• Blood tests or other screening tests to check for autoimmune diseases, such as thyroid disease or diabetes.

These are facts that people has been through. People that smoke, consume alcohol regularly, and people who have a history of breast cancer in their immediate family are at risk the most. Women should be informed to catch any deadly tumors or growths before it is too late. Many women do not realize the risks or are even not aware of their family history. These are all reasons why they should regularly be screened.

Nature and scope of the project: Despite the advances in medical technology, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and is the second cause of mortality in African-American and Caucasian women in the United States. Mammography has shown to be one of the best method to reduce late detection of breast cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends monthly self-breast examination (SBE), clinical breast examination every three years and mammography starting at age of 40. Despite the recommendations, there is a disparity among different racial groups. The breast cancer screening rates are higher in certain subgroups, including low-income African-Americans and Hispanic

Mammography, the most effective method for detecting breast cancer at its early stages, can identify malignancies before they can be felt and before symptoms develop. According to the report, from 2000 to 2010, the percentage of women who received a mammogram decline for women from poor and low-income households and for non-Hispanic whites. Furthermore, women from poor, low-income, and middle-income households were less likely to receive a mammogram compared with women from high-income households. In National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR), among women ages 50-64, uninsured women were less likely to receive a mammogram compared with those with private insurance. The two main factors that serve as a barrier to early detection and cure for breast cancer are socio-economic status (no health insurance/poor access to healthcare) and lack of awareness of the importance of breast cancer screening. The impact of these factors is to the patients and their families is that frequently, breast cancer would be detected at an already advanced stage and the prognosis would be poor, leading to mortality. Cancer diagnosed early before spread has occurred are generally more amenable to treatment and cancers diagnosed late with extensive spread have poor prognoses. In these cases, treatment would just be of palliative in nature. Early detection through screening means early treatment and lower mortality

In today’s society, women are not getting their mammograms done because they feel they are not necessary or because they are afraid of the results of the mammograms. Since women do not get their mammograms done, they are exposed to breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, women who get mammograms, reduce about “15% to 20% in mortality from breast cancer” (“National Cancer Institute” 1). If women would increase the rate of getting mammograms, there will be less deaths in women.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women in the United States. A mammogram, is a simple test done with x-ray, to screen women for abnormalities of the breast. Over the past six years, the guidelines put out by various healthcare organizations have changed multiple times on when women should begin screening mammograms. Based on statistical data collected by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 20 percent of women go without a screening mammogram for their own various reasons, of which may be lack of insurance, lack of time or lack of knowledge as to when they should be getting a screening mammogram done due to the recent changes in recommendations. The utilization of annual screening mammograms beginning at age 40 will continue to help reduce the incidence rate of women with breast cancer, or catch it early enough so that treatment can be sought.

This book is directed to the many professionals in government, academia, public health and health care who need up to date information on the potential for reducing the impact of cancer, including physicians, nurses, epidemiologists, and research scientists. The main aim of the book is to provide a realistic appraisal of the evidence for both cancer prevention and cancer screening. In addition, the book provides an accounting of the extent programs based on available knowledge have impacted populations. Overview of the evidence base for cancer prevention and screening, as demonstrated in Epidemiologic Studies in Cancer Prevention and Screening, is critically important given current debates within the scientific community. Yet the knowledge available to prevent many cancers is incomplete, and even if we know the main causal factors for a cancer, we often lack the understanding to put this knowledge into

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women (Macacu, Autier, Boniol & Boyle, 2015). In 2013 in the United State, 40,030 female have lost their life to breast cancer (Bryan, Westmaas, Alcaraz & Jemal, 2014). When women reach the appropriate age for mammogram screening, it should be recommended by their nurse practitioner. Mammogram screening is used to detect early breast cancer and it is the most reliable test that practitioner used to detect breast cancer (Randel, 2016).

The paper Prostate Cancer Screening is written as an analysis of the controversy on the use of screening for prostate cancer. The paper itself is written between doctors Elie Mulhem, Nikolaus Fulbright, and Norah Duncan. The analysis, while likely directed to those in the medical field, is tailored to be easily understood by laypeople. While the paper itself is a somewhat brief, surface level analysis of the situation, it does support the notion that prostate cancer screening through methods like prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and digital-rectal examinations (DRE) have questionable effectiveness. The intention of the paper appears to persuade doctors and the public to the viewpoint that prostate

Screening refers to the testing of people without signs or symptoms for a disease or condition, with the aim of reducing their future risk of ill health or of giving them information about their risk. [1,2] Currently, there is great diversity and discordance among screening programs across Canada, with significant variation in screening policies and practices across the jurisdictions. Newborns screening in Ontario test for 29 disorders. British Columbia and Yukon test for 22 disorders, while Alberta and Northwest Territories test for 17. At least 30 disorders are screened in Saskatchewan, while Manitoba tests for upward of 40. [3]

Although most studies suggest there is no single, clear, agreed upon profile, it is unanimous that there is a need for an informative, clinical diagnosis that can be used for future screening and prevention

This research will discuss the benefits of increasing breast cancer screening among women. I am interested in this topic because of my personal experiences with friends who are diagnosed with breast cancer. The more evidence based information that can be provided to women about the benefits of early screening will allow them to make an informed decision. The majority of death that occurs from breast cancer occurs in women who were not screened or did not get screened often (Rosenberg, 2013).

If 2000 women are screened regularly for 10 years, one will benefit from the screening, as she will avoid dying from breast cancer (Screening for breast cancer with mammography). The article also says, women get a false alarms due to some screenings.

During the medical screening exam, a health care provider does a short physical exam and medical history to assess:

Through these screenings, prognosis improves when breast cancers are discovered in their earlier stages. Better access to health care for all citizens owing to Singapore’s economic growth and urban development too, allowed for earlier detection (Jara-Lazaro, Thilagaratnam, & Tan, 2010). Life expectancy of breast cancer patients hence have improved quite spectacularly with early detection and successful treatments that delayed cancer deaths (Beesley et al., 2008). This means that more people have lived with and survived breast cancer (Jara-Lazaro, et al., 2010).