Cancer screening is an important part of preventive health care. Though anyone of any age can develop cancer, your risk for many of the most common types of cancer increases as you age.
At Low Testosterone & Weight Loss Center, with locations in Allen and Frisco, Texas, our highly skilled health care providers offer cancer screening for men and women. Below, they share some of the types of cancer screening you can get or be referred for at our clinic. We individualize your screening recommendations and schedule based on your gender, age, and other risk factors.
Unlike many cancers, testicular cancer is most common in boys and men aged 15-34. You’re at increased risk for testicular cancer if you have cryptorchidism (i.e., an undescended testicle). If we catch it early enough, testicular cancer can usually be cured.
Though no screening technology exists for testicular cancer, your provider palpates your testes during annual physical exams to check for lumps. Scheduling an annual physical at Low Testosterone & Weight Loss Center helps your provider ensure that your testicles are healthy and cancer-free.
If you’re over age 50, are of African American descent, or have a father or brother who developed prostate cancer, talk to our providers about a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to help identify early changes associated with prostate cancer. A healthy prostate produces PSA, but cancer cells produce PSA, too. If your blood PSA levels are abnormally high, you might have cancerous cells in your prostate.
Although many health care providers used to advise all men over age 50 to get a PSA test every year, that recommendation led to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Often, an elevated PSA is simply evidence of another condition, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia, in which your prostate is enlarged, but not necessarily cancerous.
Your Low Testosterone & Weight Loss Center provider works with you to determine when you should have your first PSA test and how often you should be screened. Just getting a baseline PSA could help us determine your normal PSA levels, which can vary from person to person. If your PSA is extremely elevated, however, our team may recommend other tests to determine whether you have cancer.
Although both men and women can get breast cancer, it’s very rare in men. Women ages 50-69 have a reduced chance of dying from breast cancer if they get regular mammograms that screen for breast cancer when compared to women who don’t get screened.
If you’re a woman who comes to Low Testosterone & Weight Loss Center for women’s health services, our team may refer you for a mammogram, which checks for lumps and tumors that are too small to feel during physical examination.
If you’re a man, your provider palpates your chest and breast area to check for lumps during an annual exam or other physical. Men don’t benefit from mammography, but if we detect a lump we may recommend a biopsy.
Cancer of the colon or rectum (i.e. colorectal cancer) is the third most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Testing for colorectal cancer is among the most effective screenings available to detect cancer early, leading to quick treatment. Depending on your health, age, and medical history, we may recommend a colonoscopy every 10 years or an annual stool test.
You must undergo general anesthesia for a colonoscopy. Your provider inserts an instrument containing a miniature camera through your rectum and into your colon to look for polyps or tumors.
Even if your cancer screening is positive, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have cancer or even pre-cancerous changes. If our team finds a suspicious lump or tumor, we may need to remove a small portion of the abnormal tissue for a biopsy, which a lab then evaluates for the presence of cancer cells.
Depending on where the suspicious lesion is located, you may need to undergo general anesthesia for your biopsy. If you’re awake during your biopsy, your health care provider gives you topical anesthetic to keep you comfortable.
To set up an annual exam or cancer screening, contact our office nearest you by phone or online.
