Cancer is one of those words, you hear it, and it fills you with dread. While most of us have known someone who has had cancer, and often know someone who has survived it, the idea of being diagnosed with cancer is something that remains one of the scariest things that we can imagine happening.
However, today many who receive that diagnosis do survive, with improvements in treatments giving everyone a better chance than ever to overcome the challenge of cancer. But there is something you can do to help your chances of survival, and that is screening. To put it simply, the earlier cancer is identified, the better chance there is of treating it successfully. This applies to all cancers, but it is especially true with some of the more aggressive types.
Screening and sarcoma
To help understand why early diagnosis through screening really matters, here are national statistics for the particularly aggressive bone sarcoma. When identified before metastasis, patients with this form of cancer have a 65% chance of survival. This is low by cancer standards, as it is an especially virulent form of cancer, but when compared to later diagnosis after metastasis, where the chance of survivability is just 30%, you can clearly see the value of screening and early diagnosis with any cancer.
In this case, a screening and early diagnosis more than doubles the chance of survival, and that is definitely something that you cannot ignore.
Listen to your body
Your body is very good at telling you something is wrong, from continued paid to feeling lethargic or overly tired all the time. If you begin to feel like there is a problem, contact your doctor and get checked out, it really can make all the difference.
It is important to remember that there is never a situation where a screening or check up is a waste. If they find nothing wrong, then you have peace of mind, meaning you are not sitting stressing, imagining how bad things are. You know for sure either way, and that is important.
Screening and early diagnosis can save your life, be aware, and get screened if you feel there is an issue, or your doctor recommends it for you.
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