2020 PPP magazine

2020 Paint the Paper Pink Lincoln Daily News October 2020 Page 17 Cancer screening continues to be important as you age G etting older is not a reason to skip regular breast health checks. Your risk of developing breast cancer goes up as you get older. About two out of three invasive breast cancers are found in women age 55 or older. To stay in good health you should continue getting mammograms. If you are 50 to 64, these tests for certain cancers are recommended for your age and gender: Women Breast Cancer Testing Women ages 50 to 54 should get mammograms every year. Be sure you understand the pros and cons of breast cancer screening. Starting at age 55, you should switch to getting mammograms every 2 years, or you can continue to get one every year. It’s important to know if you are at higher than average risk for breast cancer. If you are, talk to a health care provider about whether you need to get other tests done along with your mammograms. It’s also important to know how your breasts normally look and feel and to report any changes to a health care provider right away. Cervical Cancer Testing Get a primary HPV test* every 5 years. If a primary HPV test is not available in your area, then acceptable options include a co-test (an HPV test done at the same time as a Pap test) every 5 years or a Pap test alone every 3 years. (*A primary HPV test is an FDA approved test that is done by itself for screening.) The most important thing to remember is to get screened regularly, no matter which test you get. No testing is needed after surgery that removed the cervix as long as it was done for reasons not related to cervical cancer or pre- cancer. CONTINUE