Screenings & Community Awareness

There is no doubt that early detection is key to successfully treating cancer. Allegiance Health makes getting screened convenient, affordable and accurate. Additionally, we offer cancer-related special community-awareness programs designed to educate those who are high risk and help those most in need.

Screening guide

Below is a screening guide for four common forms of cancer. Talk to your physician about being screened for other forms of cancer.

Breast cancer

  • Starting at age 40, women should receive annual mammograms. High-risk women should start earlier.
  • Women in their 20s and 30s should receive clinical breast exams every three years. Women 40 and older should do so every year.
  • Report any breast changes promptly.
  • Starting in their 20s, women should conduct breast self-exams on a regular basis.

Cervical cancer

  • Screening should begin approximately three years after a woman begins having vaginal intercourse, but no later than 21 years of age.
  • Annual screening with regular Pap tests or every two years using liquid-based tests.
  • At or after age 30, women who have had three normal test results in a row may get screened every two to three years absent of any high-risk factors.
  • Women 70 and older who have had three or more consecutive Pap tests in the last 10 years may choose to stop cervical cancer screening.
  • Screening after a total hysterectomy (with removal of the cervix) is not necessary unless the surgery was done as a treatment for cervical cancer.

Colorectal cancer

Men and women age 50 and older:

  • A fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every year.
  • A flexible sigmoidoscopy (FSIG) every five years.
  • A double-contrast barium enema every five years.
  • A colonoscopy every 10 years.

Prostate cancer

Men age 50 and older:

  • Annual prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and the digital rectal examination (DRE).
  • Men at high risk (African-American men and men with a strong family history of one or more first-degree relatives diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age) should begin testing at age 45.

Community awareness

Examples of educational sessions Allegiance Health sponsors include tips on summer skin care, endometrial and ovarian cancer, smoking cessation, benefits of mammography and a community-wide health fair. Our staff, including physicians, nurses and other clinical specialists, facilitate the sessions.

Additionally, be aware of the following opportunities: