5 Tips To Help Catch Cancer Early
Posted September 26, 2022 by Sameer Mahesh, M.D.
Reviewed January 2025
Nearly 40 percent of individuals in this country will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, according to the National Cancer Institute.
However, the good news is that many cancers can be found early before they have a chance to grow and spread. And, studies prove catching cancer early when it’s easier to treat improves patient outcomes.
For example, breast cancer that is found in the early stages has a 99 percent survival rate, but when found in later stages, the survival rate drops to 28 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. For colorectal cancer, the survival rate is 91 percent when found in the early stages compared to 14 percent when found in later stages.
Learn the steps you can take to be proactive with your health and talk to your healthcare provider. Summa Health reviews 5 easy things you can do to be proactive in your health and better determine your risk for cancer.
Get regular cancer screenings
Regular cancer screenings increase your chance of detecting certain cancers early when they are easier to treat. In fact, screening tests can help find a cancer before the person experiences any symptoms. If pre-cancers or cancers are found, doctors can treat them early before they have a chance to spread.
The American Cancer Society supports screening tests for breast, cervical, colorectal, prostate and lung cancers based on your age, sex and ethnicity. Talk to your healthcare provider about which screening tests are right for you.
Know your family medical history
Understanding your family’s medical history may be can help in understanding your risk of developing hereditary conditions and diseases, including cancer. It offers you and your healthcare provider clues if you might have a higher risk than the general population.
For example, if you have a close family member with breast cancer, you are at an increased risk for developing the disease yourself, especially if more than one close relative has had the disease, or if a family member got it at a younger age than usual.
Certain screenings, such as mammograms or a colonoscopy, may be recommended at an earlier age or more frequently if your family history points to a higher risk for certain cancers. Genetic testing also may be recommended.
Consider genetic testing
Inherited genetic mutations or abnormal genes can play a major role in about 5 to 10 percent of all cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Genetic tests for hereditary cancer can tell whether you have any of these abnormal genes and estimate your chance of developing cancer in your lifetime. While it can’t answer for certain whether you will develop cancer, it can reveal if you’re at a higher risk than most people.
Genetic tests are available for many types of cancer, including breast, ovarian, colon, prostate and pancreatic.
Genetic testing may be recommended if you have three or more relatives diagnosed with a certain cancer and also if the results can help you take steps to reduce your risk, such as surgery, medication or lifestyle changes.
Establish regular checkups with your primary care provider
Regular appointments and building a relationship with your primary care provider, or PCP, is an important way to be proactive in your health. Think of your PCP as your partner in becoming your healthiest self.
Your PCP’s job is to focus on your vitals, such as weight, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, to assess your health. Based on your measurements, age, gender, family history and lifestyle, your PCP may recommend lifestyle changes to decrease your risk of certain cancers or important preventative screenings.
It’s also an opportunity to discuss something that’s bothering you at the first sign of a problem, whether it’s pain, trouble sleeping or other physical ailments. It could point to a condition that needs to be addressed. Additionally, your healthcare provider can review your family history with you and coordinate further evaluation if you may be at higher risk.
Modify the risk factors you can
While you can’t control whether you develop cancer, you can change some of your risk factors, also known as modifiable risk factors. You can help reduce your cancer risk by choosing the healthy lifestyle options, including:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and low in processed foods
- Getting at least 150 minutes of cardio exercise each week and doing strength activities two or more days a week
- Avoiding tobacco products
- Limiting alcohol use
- Protect your skin from UV radiation from the sun
Use Electronic Medical Record Portals to Track Your Health Visits
Using electronic medical record portals, such as MyChart, also is a great way to be proactive in your health. MyChart can provide reminders and due dates for important preventive screenings. It also allows you to ask your provider questions about any symptoms you may be having and request appointments online.
Being proactive in your health and consistent about getting the recommended cancer screenings could save your life. For more information on cancer screenings and risk factors, visit summahealth.org/cancer..
About the Author
Vitality eNews Sign Up
Receive the Summa Health eNewsletter for the latest health tips, advice and updates.
Related Blogs
It’s never too late to make cancer prevention your top priority.
Cancer affects 1 in 3 people in this country, according to the American Cancer Society. If you haven’t been touched by it, you likely know someone who has — a friend, family member, coworker or neighbor.
With odds like that, why not take the necessary steps to help prevent it in the first place?
While you can’t avoid all causes of cancer, you can significantly reduce your risks — while at the…
Blood plays a vital role in how our bodies function. As blood circulates the body, it’s responsible for supplying all our organs with oxygen, nutrients and antibodies to fight infection and control bleeding. Blood is essential to life.
Unfortunately, about every 3 minutes, one person in the United States is diagnosed with blood cancer, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Blood cancers account for nearly 10 percent of new cancer cases in this country every…
In many cases today, cancer has become a chronic disease, rather than a terminal disease, with people living longer and healthier lives after a diagnosis of cancer than ever before. Even more significant, more people are surviving cancer thanks to early detection and more advanced treatment options. The American Cancer Society estimates there are more than 18 million cancer survivors in the United States—and growing each year. At Summa Health, we define cancer…
Not only does your body need energy to function at its best and fight off the disease, but also to repair and recover.
Eating nutritious foods is a key component to a healthy lifestyle. In fact, some recent studies have linked plant-based foods and lower cancer rates.
The primary goal of a nutrition plan…
The ovaries may be small, but they are mightily important in a female’s reproductive cycle. With each about the size and shape of an almond, the ovaries produce eggs, as well as the female hormones estrogen and progesterone.
You don’t often hear about a loved one developing ovarian cancer because it’s not very common. However, it does deserve your attention, especially if you’re at high risk. Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among females,…
Reviewed March 2025
Nearly 40 percent of individuals in this country will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, according to the National Cancer Institute. Breast, lung, prostate, colon and skin cancers are among the most common cancers diagnoses.
Fortunately, there are many cancer treatment options available today to cure a cancer, slow the progression or even reduce side effects from cancer — with several more being studied. Cancer treatments include…
Early detection of breast cancer matters. The 5-year survival rate for breast cancer is lower in advanced stages of the disease. Many times women wait until they experience symptoms, like a lump, before they get a mammogram or clinical breast exam. By then, the cancer may have spread and be more difficult to treat and cure.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in females. That’s why for decades, October and the color pink have gone hand in hand to promote…
While head and neck cancers are not the most common malignancies diagnosed in the US, it affects a significant number of patients. According to the National Cancer Institute, this group of cancers occur in about 4 percent of all cancers in the country.
While more common cancers such as breast, colon and lung cancer are more known, oral, head and neck cancers can and do occur, especially in men. Additionally, the population affected by this disease has changed over the…
Reviewed March 2025
As the third leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the U.S., screening for colorectal cancer should be an important part of your routine healthcare.
Colon and rectal cancers, more commonly known as colorectal cancer, can be found early with testing before it has a chance to grow and spread. And studies prove catching it early when the cancer is easier to treat improves patient outcomes.
Just look at the survival rate for colorectal…
You’re not a smoker, so you can’t be at risk for lung cancer, right? Not so fast.
While smokers, especially cigarette smokers, make up the leading cause of lung cancer deaths, nonsmokers do get diagnosed with this deadly disease.
Lung cancer is the second most common diagnosed cancer in both men and women, and the leading cause of cancer deaths, making up almost 25 percent in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
However, despite how…
One out of every eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime; this is considered average risk for U.S. women. High risk for breast cancer is defined as a greater than or equal to 20% lifetime risk, or in other words, a one in five chance of developing breast cancer over a lifetime. We all know someone — a coworker, family member such as a mother, sister, daughter or friend — that has been diagnosed with this disease.
That’s why for…
Dr. John Fondran discusses the importance of colorectal health, and why getting screened is important.
For decades, October and the color pink have gone hand in hand to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. The universal pink ribbon represents prevention, early detection and treatment — supporting the mission to spread awareness and education.
According to breastcancer.org, breast cancer affects one in eight women, and chances are you know someone — a co-worker, a family member, a friend — who has been diagnosed. Other than skin cancer, it is the most commonly…
It can be difficult to face the idea of getting screened for prostate cancer, and many people opt out due to fear, inconvenience, or lack of knowledge of the symptoms. There is clear scientific evidence that screening with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test can help identify cancer early on which makes treatment more effective and reduces the number of deaths associated with prostate cancer.
We’ve compiled some valuable information below so that you can…
Did you know one out of every 10 men in the US will develop prostate cancer? This form is the most common cancer in men. Bladder cancer, another common cancer in the US, affects as many as 68,000 individuals every year. It’s the fourth leading cancer for men and the eleventh for women. For men ages 15 to 44, testicular cancer is the leading type of cancer. What do all of these have in common? They are cancers that form in or affect parts of the urinary tract.
Updated on May 6, 2024
Did you know skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States? If caught early, skin cancer is one of the easier cancers to treat. However, every hour of every day one American dies from melanoma, its deadliest form.
There are various treatments for melanoma, depending on the stage at which a patient is diagnosed, including: surgery to remove the affected area, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a relatively new treatment called immunotherapy.…
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Colorectal cancer remains the #3 cancer killer in the U.S., yet it is one of the most preventable types of cancer. Statistically, 1 in 22 men and 1 in 24 women will develop colorectal cancer in their lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2018 more than 140,000 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 50,000 of them are expected to die of this disease. Colorectal cancer screening could save more than half…