Frequently Asked Questions on Screening of Cancer:

1. What is screening in general? What is cancer Screening?
Ans: Screening is the examination of asymptomatic (healthy) population, in order to detect a certain disease at an early stage. Cancer screening is a wide practice in the industrialized countries, to detect early cancer cases among seemingly healthy individuals.

2. Can cancer be screened in general ?
Ans: There is no way to screen cancer in general. There is no single test or a group of tests which would tell whether a person does or does not have cancer in general.

3. Is cancer curable at all?
Ans: Yes, Cancer is very much curable, especially if detected early.

4. Does cancer screening ensure 100% protection?
Ans: No. There is no 100% assurance. Some cancers may have a masked appearance. Therefore, there is no effective screening for some of the cancers.

5. What kind of co-operation may one expect from the population?
Ans: To go for regular cancer screening for cancer self consciously.
Those who do, benefit in two ways:
1. Pre-cancerous lesions may be detected and they can get easily cured. This is a direct prevention of cancer.
2. Screening may detect a cancer at an early, curable stage. Life expectancy of such patient is dramatically better than that of the unscreened population.

6. What kind of cancer can be screened by simple inspection?
Ans: The surface of the human body, especially the skin, can be screened for cancer by simple inspection, with or without magnifying glass

7.Is there any guideline, as to who has to go and see specialists for head and neck cancer?
(Oral, Pharyngeal etc.,)
Ans: Yes . People with chewing and/or smoking habits or drinking are more at risk of developing cancer. Therefore, regular screening is very much advised for them.

8. What fragment of population is advised to undergo Lung cancer screening procedure?
Ans: There is no well definable group of population as such. However, heavy smokers are well advised to consult their specialists in order to develop individual programme for them.

9. Is there any screening procedure for cancer of the digestive tract?
Ans: Yes & No. Cancer of the oesophagus, cancer of the stomach and the large bowels can be detected at an early stage with endoscopic examination.

10. Does it mean that people should undergo regular endoscopy for the digestive tract?
Ans: Not at all. This examination is relatively costly and some inconvenience is also there. Endoscopy of the digestive tract is not regularly used for general cancer screening. Consultation of the expert can however result in individual screening programme for persons at increased risk.

11. Can cancer of the prostate be screened effectively?
Ans: Yes. Clinical examination and/or trans-rectal ultrasound may detect early prostate cancer. There is however a relatively new blood test: PSA, (Prostate Specific Antigen), which is very effective in the screening of prostate cancer.

12.Is there any screening procedure for cancer of the reproductive organs?
Ans: Yes, there is. Male reproductive organs are clinically screenable.

13. What about the female genital organs?
Ans: This is one of the most widespread cancer screening all over the world. Cancer of the uterine cervix (lower segment of the womb) is quite common and very well screenable - by appropriate screening procedures.

14. What is the appropriate age of a woman to start attending regular cancer screening for the uterine cervix?
Ans: It is advisable to start cancer screening from the time a woman becomes sexually active.

15. What about sexually inactive women? (For e.g.., Christian nuns.)
Ans: There is no exemption. All the women are well advised to undergo regular screening. However the frequency may differ.
It is said that sexually inactive women are at less risk of developing cancer of the uterine cervix . Does it mean that screening for them is useless ? Not at all. The risk is less, but not zero.

16. What does it mean – gynaec screening ?
Ans; Screening for the cancer of uterine cervix means clinical examination and collection of material for the PAP smear. It is very effective and inexpensive.

17. Is there any screening procedure for breast cancer ?
Ans: Yes, there is. Clinical examination and mammography.

18.Is mammography risky to the screened persons ?
Ans: No, it is not risky. X-Ray is not a risky type of examination. Theoretically X-ray can cause genetical disorders. Fortunately however, with human beings, the risk of genetic damage (due to exposure to diagnostic X-ray) is quite insignificant.

19.What about the other organs of the human body? Is there any cancer screening for the heart, brain or bones etc.?
Ans: Not really. Any part of our body may develop cancer. Cancer screening is advised mainly for frequent types of cancer. There is another practical point: early detection should result in considerably better cure rate. Otherwise screening of cancer has only less practical value.

20. The most important question is: What is the impact of cancer screening to the curability, in general?
Ans: Screening for the non symptomatic population has a major impact on curability in general. In the developed countries (with appropriate screening) about 70% of the detected cancer cases can be cured. Whereas in the countries without regular cancer screening, 70% of the cancer cases die due to their disease despite all therapeutic intervention.