Regular checkup doctor visits help beat cancer
People over 50 should have regular cancer checkups with their doctor every year or two rather than just rely on an “illness” visit, according to a recent study of over 64,000 people aged between 52 and 78.
The study published in the ‘Archives of Internal Medicine’ found that regular doctor’s appointments – rather than visiting when a person felt ill – increased the chances that older people would have a recommended cancer screening test.
The study looked at people who had visited their doctor at least once from 2002 to 2003 and divided them into two groups – those who had a general checkup during this time ( 52.4%) and those who didn’t.
Researchers compared the cancer screening rates and found that patients who had a general checkup were far more likely to then have the specific cancer tests than those who had “illness” visits.
The figures for the checkup patients against “illness” patients showed actual screening for breast cancer to be 74.1% (checkup) to 55.9% (illness); colon cancer 57.2% to 17.2%; and prostate cancer 58.8% to 21.1%.
