Detect Cancer at the Treatable Stage

Okay, so making an appointment with your doctor, sitting in a waiting room leafing through magazines, and possibly undergoing some uncomfortable tests may not be the most enjoyable way to avoid cancer, but they are among the best ways to ensure that if you do have cancer, it's caught at the treatable stage. Here's what most health-care organizations recommend in terms of regular screenings:

Skin. Get an annual skin examination, preferably from a dermatologist.

Breast. Women should have yearly mammograms starting at age 40.

Cervical. All women should begin cervical cancer screening about three years after they begin having vaginal intercourse, but no later than age 21. Get screened every year with the regular Pap test or every two years using the newer liquid-based Pap test until you reach age 30. At that point, if you've had three normal Pap test results in a row (and have no special risk factors for cervical cancer) you can get screened every two to three years with either the conventional (regular) or liquid-based Pap test.

Colon and rectal cancer. Beginning at age 50, follow one of these five screening strategies (make the decision with your doctor):
1. A yearly fecal occult blood test (FOBT)
2. A flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years
3. A yearly FOBT plus flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years (better than either test alone)
4. A double-contrast barium enema every 5 years
5. A colonoscopy every 10 years

Prostate cancer. Beginning at age 50, men should have a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal examination every year. Men who are at high risk should begin testing at age 45. This group includes African American men and men with a strong family history of one or more first-degree relatives (father, brothers) who were diagnosed at an early age.