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Cancer Screening Tips for Women

WebMD Health News

April 24, 2001 -- Attention all women! If your ob-gyn is your primary care physician, hit print before you go to your next annual exam.

These days, about 70% of women rely on their gynecologist for regular healthcare, including screening tests for female cancers. And leading gynecologists tell WebMD that the onus is on both women and their gynecologist to make sure that they get the necessary tests for the primary cancers affecting women -- breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers.

"We as gynecologists take care of the whole patient today," says Yvonne S. Thornton, MD, MPH, an ob-gyn at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City and author of Woman to Woman: A Leading Gynecologist Tells You All You Need to Know About Your Body and Your Health. "It is incumbent on us to make sure that our patients get the best care possible, and unfortunately there are a lot of tests that most [gynecologists] aren't doing on a regular basis."

For example, most gynecologists don't do a rectal exam, which should be part of the traditional vaginal exam. Among other things, it gives doctors the opportunity to find early signs of colorectal cancer, especially in women over 40 years old.

"No one wants to have their rectum examined and most gynecologists don't do it, but it should be part of a traditional vaginal exam," says Thornton. "We need a wake-up call so we can get back to the basics of the general gynecological evaluation."

That's why Pamela J. Paley, MD, an ob-gyn at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, recently reviewed the current guidelines for cancer screening in women. Her article appears in the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Here's what Paley and others have to say about proper screening for the major cancers affecting women and what women need to discuss with their doctors.

Breast Cancer

One in eight women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. To help prevent this common -- and commonly feared -- cancer, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends women begin monthly breast self-exams at age 20. The experts also recommend clinical breast exams by a trained healthcare professional every three years for women aged 20-39 and then annually beginning at age 40.

Not all experts agree when women should begin regular mammography screenings. ACS recommends that women have a mammogram annually starting at age 40, while the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advises women to have a mammogram every one to two years starting at age 40 and annually after age 50.

"I personally believe that women should have a mammogram yearly starting at age 40," says Michele Curtis, MD, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas at Houston. She also recommends that women make sure to discuss their personal risk factors for breast cancer with their doctor.

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