OCR Text |
Show JY by Corey W. Grua Public Info. Chairman, (Uintah Co. Unit Amer. Cancer Socr ACS change checkup guideline QUESTION: The ACS has some new guidelines for cancer checkups. Why the change? ANSWER: First, let me emphasize that the new guildlines are intended only for people who have no symptoms. Many times during the past eight months I've urged you to watch out for cancer's warning signals. Last week I quoted Dr. Saul B. Gusberg, ACS President. He ways that the new guidelines are designed to "deliver essentially the same health benefit as previous society recommendations recom-mendations to the public at a greatly reduced risk, inconvenience and cost to the patient." Following are some key recommendations: recom-mendations: A "cancer-related checkup" is recommended for all persons over 20 every three years, and for all persons over 40 each year. Women 20 and over, and those under 20 who are sexually active, should, after two initial negative Pap tests one year apart, have a Pap test at least every three years. Women over 50 should have a mammogram (breast x-ray) every year. All women should have a baseline or reference mammogram between the ages of 35 and 40. Women under 50 should consult their personal physicians about the need for mamography in their individual cases. Men and women over 50 should have a stool guaiac slide test every year. Men and women over 50 should have a sigmoidoscopic examination every three to five years after two initial negative examinations a year apart. Specifically excluded from these recommendations are the chest x-ray and sputum cytology to screen for cancer of the lung. These are the key recommendations. In the future we'll take a closer look at each special type of examination. |