Remember to Put Cancer Screenings on Your Calendar

TYPE OF CANCER	WHO NEEDS REGULAR SCREENINGS?	RECOMMENDATION
Breast	All women	Beginning in their 20s, women should be told about the benefits and limitations of a breast self-exam. Women in their 20s and 30s need a clinical breast exam every three years. Women ages 40 and older need annual mammograms and clinical breast exams.
Cervical	All women who have been sexually active for about three years or are ages 21 and older	Schedule annual Pap tests. At or after age 30, women who have had three normal tests in a row may get screened every two to three years.
Colorectal	All adults ages 50 and older	Choose one of the following strategies: fecal occult blood test annually; flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years; fecal occult blood test every year, plus flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years; double-contrast barium enema every five years; or colonoscopy every 10 years.
Prostate	Men ages 50 and older	Men should talk with their doctor about the value of two tests: digital rectal exams and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests.
Skin	All adults ages 20 and older	Do a self-exam once a month. Have a doctor check your skin every three years until age 39 and once a year after that.

Cancer screenings enable doctors to catch cancer in the early stages, when the disease is most treatable. The chart above offers screening guidelines from the American Cancer Society. Women and men at high risk for these diseases may need earlier or more frequent screenings.