Oncological diseases (after cardiovascular diseases) – second one of the leading causes of death in the world. Many cancers are highly treatable if caught in the early stages. This doesn’t require much.
What should be done
1. Take a close look at yourself
In Russia, according to the Moscow Scientific Research Institute of Oncology named after P. A. Herzen for 2022, skin tumors (excluding melanoma) rank second in incidence with 10.8%, second only to breast cancer. The share of melanoma from the total number of malignant tumors is about 1.8%.
Melanomas can masquerade as normal moles, but the growth is different from normal tissue and can still be found. Therefore, if you regularly examine the body, study moles and suspicious pigment spots, then you have a chance to notice skin cancer at an early stage, when treatment more efficient In total, it increases.
How to get tested for skin cancer
Conduct the inspection after a shower or bath, in a room with good lighting.
- Undress and stand in front of a full-length mirror, but if you don’t have one, any will do. Examine moles on the face, neck, chest and abdomen. Women need to lift their breasts and examine the skin underneath. Examine the skin in your armpits, the backs of your hands, and the space between your fingers.
- Sit down and examine your feet from all sides, not forgetting your toes. Take a small mirror and look at the back of your legs: under the knees, on the back of the thigh.
- Using the same mirror, examine the buttocks and examine the groin area – a tumor can even appear on the skin of the genitals.
- Stand with your back to a large mirror and examine your back while looking into a small one.
Such checks by oncologists recommend carried out once a month. Then the skin will be under control.
What you should be wary of:
- A mole or spot larger than 6 mm in diameter.
- A neoplasm with uneven, blurry edges.
- A mole or spot that is an unusual color, such as red or partially blackened.
- Any formation that protrudes above the surface of the skin.
There are many oncological skin diseases, they look different. Therefore, it is advisable to show everything that itches, gets wet, bleeds and peels to a doctor.
2. Check weight
Many oncological diseases develop unnoticed: the cancer is already there, but does not make itself known either through pain or any special symptoms. But not everyone pays attention to ordinary ailments: why run to the doctor because of fatigue, when it is already clear that you need a vacation?
One of the signs of cancer is weight loss, provided that diet and lifestyle have not changed.
Most often this is the case declare about yourself cancer of the stomach, pancreas, esophagus or lung.
Of course, weight loss is not only due to cancer. This is why you need to weigh yourself regularly in order to know when changes in body weight are justified, and when you should consult a doctor and find out where the kilograms have gone.
3. Do a genetic analysis
Predisposition to many types of cancer runs in families, and genetic testing can help identify mutations that increase risk. Like any study, it has indications. If you have close relatives who have had cancer, especially before the age of 50, it is worth contacting an oncologist to see if you need such testing.
For example, the development of breast cancer is influenced by genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) developed indications for testing for mutations in these genes. If a person is found to have these, it becomes clear that he is at risk.
A “bad” gene is not a disease. It allows you to develop a strategy for more intensive and earlier screening, and in some cases, think about risk-reducing treatment.
4. Get a mammogram
Mammography is an examination of the mammary glands using X-rays. Women recommend undergo mammography regularly after 40–45 years, and after 50 years do once every year or two.
In Russia it is included in the program medical examination and is prescribed to women aged 40 to 75 years. Testing before these age limits is pointless and even harmful. The more often the examination is carried out, the higher risk false positive result. And this, in turn, leads to unnecessary studies and operations.
Looking for breast lumps on your own can be harmful!
Self-examination can be helpful to better understand the “normality” of the breast. However, according to observations, it does not help find breast cancer at an early stage. In addition, according to two large studies, this method does not reduce mortality from breast cancer. But it makes you worry in vain if something suddenly “appears” and treat cases that do not require it (here we mean neoplasms that go away on their own). Therefore, no major cancer community recommends monthly self-exams.
Men also get breast cancer, although it is rare. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to unpleasant symptoms: pain or tightness in the chest, any discharge from the nipples or changes in their shape.
5. Calculate how much you smoke
Lung cancer is one of the top three common types of cancer, but most often it affects people who smoke. Even those who quit smoking less than 15 years ago are at risk. An important condition for the development of lung cancer is the number of cigarettes that a potential patient smokes.
To estimate your chances of getting the disease, you can use the smoking index person. The number of cigarettes per day is multiplied by the number of years of tobacco use and divided by 20. If the indicator is more than 20, the person is included in the group of heavy smokers. This means that the risk of getting sick is increasing. Additional examinations need to be done.
By the way, to detect lung cancer they do not use fluorography, in which nothing is really visible, but computed tomography.
What not to do
- Diagnose yourself. It’s completely normal to read a list of symptoms on Wikipedia. But after such a search one cannot draw conclusions. Our job is to spot the warning signs. Let the diagnosis be made by specialists after examinations and tests.
- Donate blood for tumor markers. These tests are needed for patients whose diagnosis has already been confirmed, because in healthy people the result may be false positive. For example, due to the inflammatory process. Tumor markers are used to monitor the dynamics of treatment. For this purpose, the studies are repeated and the results are compared. A one-time analysis will not provide useful information information.
- Conduct MRI, ultrasound and other examinations if there is no reason. It’s not for nothing that all diagnostic procedures are prescribed only after symptoms appear. It is pointless to examine a healthy person without complaints: the doctor simply does not know what to look at. But studying every square centimeter of the insides is ineffective, since there is a high risk of missing something dangerous. Or find something unimportant and begin to intensively treat it.
Don’t look for a disease where it doesn’t exist. It is indeed better to detect cancer in the early stages, but the main thing is not to overdo the search.
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