ARKANSAS, USA — February is Cancer Prevention Awareness Month, and the American Cancer Society says nearly half of all cancer deaths are preventable.
Dr. Sri Obulareddy with UAMS tells 5NEWS cancer awareness months like this one help medical organizations raise money for cancer research and educate the public about cancer prevention and screenings.
According to Dr. Obulareddy, the best things people can do to prevent cancer include living a healthy lifestyle by eating healthy, exercising, avoiding smoking, and getting screened for different cancers at the appropriate age.
“Every woman has around a 12% risk of breast cancer, but due to family history, or because of other reasons, if they are deemed to be high risk, there are additional modalities like MRI breast,” Dr. Oblareddy said. “In general, I think screening, imaging [helps with early detection]. For colon cancer, it's colonoscopies, and for lung cancer prevention, we do low-dose CT.”
The American Cancer Society recommends mammograms for women starting at age 40, colonoscopy at age 45 and for those who have a history of smoking, low-dose CT scans of the chest at age 50.
“Because of this increase of screening, we see early detection, and we're able to treat cancers at an early stage, rather than the late, incurable stage,” Dr. Oblareddy said.
You can find a full list of cancer screening guidelines on the American Cancer Society’s website.
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