Diagnosing cancer at an early stage increases the success rate of cancer treatment. For this reason, even people who do not show any symptoms are advised to take regular cancer screening tests for cervical, breast, prostate and colon cancers and to have a check-up every 6 months.
If there is a condition that requires suspicion of cancer during a physical examination, our doctors ask for a blood test to look at the number and size of blood cells. A blood test can usually diagnose prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer, liver cancer, testicular cancer, and blood cancer. But for early diagnosis, it is necessary to conduct different cancer tests. All tumor and cancer-determining tests are performed with the latest technological devices at the Neolife Oncology Center.
It is important that people with a history of cancer in their family members and are at risk have regular examinations of the skin, lymph nodes, lungs and thyroid. For the detection of tumors and cancers that may occur in the urinary tract, bladder, and kidneys, you may need to have a Urine Cytology requested by your specialist doctor. It is possible to detect breast, prostate and gastrointestinal tumors at an early stage by performing a Full-Body MRI examination on people who are in the tumor risk group.
Genetic tests can also be applied to patients with a family history of cancer, such as bowel cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer, to determine whether individuals are likely to have cancer at any time in their lives. In addition to cancer, genetic tests can detect susceptibility to certain diseases, genes that can be transferred at birth, different responses to drugs and genetic factors responsible for side effects.
Genetic tests are performed by taking a saliva sample and a blood sample from a person and analyzing DNA in a laboratory. Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in women. That is why it is so important that from the age of 20 all women begin self-examination.
Even if there are no complaints about their breasts, a clinical breast examination should be performed by a general surgeon once in 3 years for women between the ages of 20 and 40, and once a year for women over the age of 40. It is very important that women with a family history of breast cancer are kept under the supervision of a doctor from the age of 25. Genetic tests are preferred to investigate the genetic predisposition to breast cancer. For the early detection of breast cancer, we recommend that women under the age of 40 have a regular manual breast exam and clinical breast exam, and women over the age of 40 have regular mammograms.
Mammography, digital mammography, MR, whole body MR, ultrasonography, biopsy, PET – CT and Dukostopy methods are used in the diagnosis of breast cancer.
For early detection of cervical cancer, we recommend that women who have started a sexual life take a regular Smear Test and a Light Screening Test.
In addition, having a gynecological examination once a year with an obstetrician and gynecologist is also vital for early detection.
If an abnormal structure is detected in the results of the Smear Test, colposcopy and biopsy methods can also be used.
Another method used to diagnose cervical cancer is a Light Screening Test. Cervical cancer and pioneer lesions can be diagnosed 2 years earlier than a Smear Test with this test, which has become widely used in recent years. Light screening is the examination of the cervix with a special device during a gynecological examination. Thus, a preliminary diagnosis can be determined, a biopsy step can be taken.
Tumor signs can be detected by scanning the uterus and ovaries during scans using the Whole-Body MRI method.
In order to protect against cervical cancer, it is recommended that women who have not started a sexual life, in other words, who are unlikely to have received the HPV virus, get an HPV vaccine. This vaccine can be given to every woman up to the age of 55.
Getting an HPV vaccine does not mean completely protecting yourself from cervical cancer. It is recommended that even women who have been vaccinated take regular Smear Tests. The HPV vaccine given to men can protect against cancers that can occur in the anus, penis, mouth and throat areas.
For the early diagnosis of colon cancer, a hidden blood test in the stool, a normal blood test, a colonoscopy, and a colon X-ray are required. In addition to these tests, screening tests include CA 19 – 9, GGT (Gamma Glutamyl Transferase), sigmoidoscopy, rectal examination and double contrast barium radiography. Routine tests should be done regarding colon cancer, colorectal cancer or otherwise known as rectal cancer from the age of 40, even if there are no symptoms or risk factors. It is recommended that men and women over the age of 50 undergo a colonoscopy to detect polyps, which are the leading lesion. It is recommended to repeat colonoscopy every 5 years if no polyps are detected in colonoscopy, and once a year if polyps are detected.
If signs suggestive of colon cancer are observed, lung film, ultrasonography, ERUS (Endorectal Ultrasonography), CT (Virtual Colonoscopy), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), PET – CT (Positron Emission Tomography) may also be requested by your specialist doctor.
After these evaluations, the stage of the disease is determined and a treatment plan is established. If colon cancer is diagnosed early, the survival rate in the first 5 years is about 90%, while this rate is much lower with late diagnoses.
For early detection of prostate cancer, we recommend that men take a PSA Test and rectal examination. It is vital that every man over the age of 40 has a PSA Test against prostate cancer, which ranks second among the most common types of cancer in men.
Individuals with a PSA level below one should repeat the test at 45 and 50 years of age. It is recommended that people with a test result above one should have a PSA Test at more frequent intervals. Because the only type of tumor that can be diagnosed with a blood marker is prostate cancer.
Since it may not be enough to take only a PSA Test to diagnose prostate cancer, men over the age of 50 should undergo regular rectal examination. If any abnormalities are detected during finger examination, a biopsy is performed. A Whole-Body MRI is also a method used to detect early signs of prostate cancer.
The diagnosis of thyroid cancer begins with contacting a specialist doctor with swelling that occurs in the middle lower part of the neck. After a physical examination, the levels of TSH, T3 and T4 in the blood are also checked. In patients with nodules, Thyroid scintigraphy is performed.
If a suspected nodule is detected in the thyroid region, its size and presence can be determined by an ultrasound examination performed by radiologists. At the next stage, a fine-needle biopsy of the bulging area is performed.
Especially because light-skinned people who have a lot of moles on their body have a higher risk of skin cancer, it is very important for a dermatologist to follow up on moles with dermoscopy technology. Regular examination of moles is vital for early detection of skin cancer. The final diagnosis of skin cancer is made after laboratory examinations of the pathology.
It is of great importance in the early diagnosis of lung cancer that individuals who have smoked for more than 30 years, between the ages of 55 and 74 and who are in the risk group, have low-dose tomography scans once a year. Thanks to this screening test, it is observed that the death rate from lung cancer has decreased by 20%.
Diagnosis of lymphoma is possible by blood tests, lung film, biopsy and physical examination. Although painless swellings in the lymph nodes in the neck, groin or armpits do not have to be a symptom of lymphoma; In case of swelling that does not go away for more than two weeks, unexplained fever and unexplained weight loss experienced with it, a specialist doctor should be consulted immediately.
